Dear GutsIsTheKey Reader; as many of you know, I am an avid outdoors-man. This love of the outdoors takes many forms. Hunting, Hiking, Gardening, lawn-work, bird and animal watching, and last but not least; Fishing!

     I remember when I was barely a toddler fishing with my brother. On one trip, he took me to the lake at the Moose Lodge. He told me to stand on the bank and fish, while he walked up on the bridge. Standing still was not something I was good at, as a child. I fell in the lake, right over the dam. As my brother rushed to try to get back to me; he was sure I had drowned. But much to his surprise. Up the bank I crawled like a mud turtle. I couldn’t swim, so I climbed the muddy, rooted bottom.

     You would think that would have scared me away from fishing. Not A Chance!

//

     I used to love for my father and brother to take me down to the creeks near my house. I don’t remember catching much. But I sure loved to fish. No matter what.

     I don’t know what it was. Getting dirty. Getting wet. Seeing the out-of-doors. Smelling the fragrances of nature. Looking at the water. The challenge of how to catch different kinds. Handling baits, Making baits, the thrill of reeling in fish. The solitude of the out-of-doors. I don’t know what it was. But from earliest childhood I loved it.

     My dad used to take me Deep Sea fishing also, when I was a boy. We went out from Morehead City repeatedly on Capt. Otis Purifoy’s Dolphin One. The ship captain was Mr. Bedford and his mate was Tommy Juernigan. We went repeatedly. And we caught lot’s of fish.

     I can laugh at our first time out but it was not real funny at the time. My best friend and I ate two bottles apiece of green olives, the day before the trip. On the way out, there were 18 foot swells on the water. I could be much more graphic but I will leave it to your imagination, what happened. To clarify, we renamed the boat, The Olive One. LOL

     As that trip went on, I got better & my friend only got sicker. Still, I loved the trip overall. We caught 1600 pounds of fish. I will find the real photo’s. It will give me an excuse, to write another fishing article.

King Mackerel

     I wasn’t always fun to fish with. My dad took me to the beach one trip to fish from the surf and I annoyed him so bad, he broke all the fishing rods in half and threw them in the ocean. I can laugh about that too now, but couldn’t at the time. How I would love to laugh about it one more time with my father; who left earth in 1998.

     Lest you think the above comment was criticism of my father. Far from it! I never had to look any further than home for a hero. My dad was always mine. I miss him all the time. I think about him a lot when I am on the water now.

      I remember that when I was a grown man, we had much more fun fishing together. We floated down the New River together, small mouth bass fishing. We floated down Juniper Spring run in Florida bass fishing. And we Red Fished out of Cedar Key on the gulf coast of Florida. I will never forget the noble look of my father looking over the water, as we traveled on fishing boats together. He was a man of nature. Maybe I love to fish so much, because he did. // I am sure that’s a part of it.

My hero, my father, John Woodard Carter, Sr.

    On my recent vacation to Hilton Head, SC. I used the time wisely…. I went out twice on the Drifter on during my week there. You guessed it, on Fishing trips. I know Dad would have enjoyed the trip.

The Drifter

    It was a fruitful adventure and on my first day’s fishing, I caught the largest catch that anyone has caught yet this season off that boat. An 80 pound stingray. Yes, it was a thrill and a blast. Here is the pic below.//

my 80 lb stingray

     Last year, I had another blast.  I caught a 48″ black tip shark. Yeah, I know; that’s not all that big for a shark,but on a party boat it was and I had a super good time, bringing him in. He has been in my profile pic for a while. Somehow, it fits my SLAM image. LOL but really.

// So anyway, I love to fish. It is a big part of who I am..

     My master seemed to like fisherman when he walked the earth, maybe that has something to do with it. Maybe.

     My master teaches me to be a fisher of men and women, maybe that has something to do with it.     Maybe.

     Maybe it is in my blood from my father. Maybe it is in my heart from my Maker.                                               Maybe.

      One thing is sure, I have a love for fishing. And with other stories to tell, I bet you will hear about this topic again from me.                                                                                                                                                                                      Definitely. 😉

Jesus loves Fishermen