Fishing with Kevin, Jeff and Stan
One of my favorite stories about my two brothers, Jeff and Kevin, and me is about a particular fishing trip. We fished together quite a bit, all over several counties in our area including Stanislaus, Merced, Tuolumne and San Joaquin. Usually, we took an old green metal Coleman ice chest on our expeditions in which we put our lunch and soda pop. Later in the day we put our catch in it whether it be fish or bullfrogs.
One day we ended up on the Merced River, downstream from Lake McSwain and east of Snelling, CA. An elderly woman owned the property on the Merced where we liked to fish. She had given our dad permission to fish there many years before and then also let us have access. The river there had a dam which was designed to allow the water to run over its top, slowing down the flow into shallows in which we could wade and fish. The Merced contains trout, salmon, bass, crappie, perch, bluegill and catfish.
At the time of this story which occurred in 1974, I was 17, Jeff was 16 and Kevin was 12. We were fishing about 30 yards apart in water up to our knees, casting into the deeper water in the middle of the river. Jeff was the furthest upstream, Kevin was in the middle and I was downstream. We were all catching fish and releasing the smallest ones. The fish we kept we ate or gave to friends and family.
It was salmon spawning season and we saw several big females swimming upstream, sometimes going right by us within a few feet. Suddenly, I heard Jeff yell, “I got a big one! Kevin, help me! I can’t hold him!” Kevin was closest to Jeff and he began to run upstream to Jeff, who I saw was fighting what had to be a huge fish. His rod was bent almost in half and he was hollering, “Hurry! Help me!” I was also moving to the action and my heart was pounding with the anticipation of seeing how big this fish must be. As Kevin got there, Jeff screamed, “Grab it or it’ll get away! Jump on it!” I was about 15 yards away when Kevin flopped into the water to help his big brother land the fish. He wrapped his arms around it and stood up, and Jeff began to hoot and slap the water. As Kevin held the fish I saw that it was a dead salmon and its scales and flesh were sliding off its bones.
We then learned that Jeff saw the fish floating by him. He grabbed it, hooked his fishing lure into its mouth and pretended he was fighting a huge live salmon. It was big and we estimated it to weigh 25 lbs. Kevin was left with rotten fish on his hands and the front of his shirt and pants. We all laughed so hard at the brilliance of Jeff’s prank.
After we finished our day of fishing we walked back to Jeff’s truck. Kevin stunk like a dead fish and Jeff didn’t want that smell is his pick-up so he gave Kevin a choice- strip and ride naked in the cab with us or ride in the truck bed. Kevin enjoyed the fresh air in the back as we drove home that day.
I cherish these memories and I am happy to share them with you all. Thanks for reading. Please make a comment if you wish.
One day we ended up on the Merced River, downstream from Lake McSwain and east of Snelling, CA. An elderly woman owned the property on the Merced where we liked to fish. She had given our dad permission to fish there many years before and then also let us have access. The river there had a dam which was designed to allow the water to run over its top, slowing down the flow into shallows in which we could wade and fish. The Merced contains trout, salmon, bass, crappie, perch, bluegill and catfish.
At the time of this story which occurred in 1974, I was 17, Jeff was 16 and Kevin was 12. We were fishing about 30 yards apart in water up to our knees, casting into the deeper water in the middle of the river. Jeff was the furthest upstream, Kevin was in the middle and I was downstream. We were all catching fish and releasing the smallest ones. The fish we kept we ate or gave to friends and family.
It was salmon spawning season and we saw several big females swimming upstream, sometimes going right by us within a few feet. Suddenly, I heard Jeff yell, “I got a big one! Kevin, help me! I can’t hold him!” Kevin was closest to Jeff and he began to run upstream to Jeff, who I saw was fighting what had to be a huge fish. His rod was bent almost in half and he was hollering, “Hurry! Help me!” I was also moving to the action and my heart was pounding with the anticipation of seeing how big this fish must be. As Kevin got there, Jeff screamed, “Grab it or it’ll get away! Jump on it!” I was about 15 yards away when Kevin flopped into the water to help his big brother land the fish. He wrapped his arms around it and stood up, and Jeff began to hoot and slap the water. As Kevin held the fish I saw that it was a dead salmon and its scales and flesh were sliding off its bones.
We then learned that Jeff saw the fish floating by him. He grabbed it, hooked his fishing lure into its mouth and pretended he was fighting a huge live salmon. It was big and we estimated it to weigh 25 lbs. Kevin was left with rotten fish on his hands and the front of his shirt and pants. We all laughed so hard at the brilliance of Jeff’s prank.
After we finished our day of fishing we walked back to Jeff’s truck. Kevin stunk like a dead fish and Jeff didn’t want that smell is his pick-up so he gave Kevin a choice- strip and ride naked in the cab with us or ride in the truck bed. Kevin enjoyed the fresh air in the back as we drove home that day.
I cherish these memories and I am happy to share them with you all. Thanks for reading. Please make a comment if you wish.
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