Sunday, March 06, 2011

Richard Morrison and Terry Weaver

Missouri Anglers

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Site created by Richard Morrison

 I began fishing at a very young age with my brother, dad and grandfather on a small river in Manchester, Iowa. My brother Jim and I learned the basics - big hook, big weight and as much worm as you can put on the hook. We were both armed with Zebco 202’s, one of the greatest rod and reel combos of the time. The idea was to throw your line as hard as you could to the other side and let the river take it down stream; somewhere along the way you caught a fish. We would catch a small stringer of channel cat and bluegill and my grandfather would sit and clean them no matter what the size. You know it’s hard to tell a kid you can’t keep it.

When I got older, I began trout fishing each year, meeting my aunt and uncle at Montauk state park. I learned how to tie very small knots on very small line in very cold weather. All this was done to catch fish that were released into the river the night before. After several years of doing this I stopped getting up early with the siren and began fishing in the afternoon. This was more of a challenge. There were fewer fishermen and what fish that were left were a little harder to catch. I learned to experiment with fly-fishing and different techniques.

Later on my brother Jim introduced me to bass tournament fishing. He and I fished a small McDonnell Douglas club event on Wappapella Lake. What I can remember about that time was he got me up about 2 hours before the take-off; we were a little light from the night before. We began fishing in a spot Jim had selected on a map someone else said was good. Well after a couple of casts, I heard Jim say “sh@!” and a splash. Jim had dropped his rod into the lake! After a lot of strong language and tackle being thrown about he began looking for a hook to snag with. All he could find was a small treble hook which he fashioned with a weight on the end. He began to cast. He cast this rig for about a half hour or so and finally said, “Lets go find someone else who may have a larger hook or another idea.” We checked our boat position and left to find a friend. After locating someone who enjoyed our story, we returned to look for Jim’s rod and reel. He again began casting and casting and casting until I heard, “That’s it I’m going in.” I looked at him and asked if he were nuts - that water was cold. “Nope” Jim said, so as he was about to strip down I grabbed his rod and began to cast. With the first or second cast I had something. I could feel it and as I pulled it into the boat I never saw anyone as excited as Jim. We fished the rest of the tournament and had nothing to weigh in. That’s a story we both have never forgotten.

I started taking my son Jake fishing when he was four. That’s right, he and I alone on a camping trip. You can, imagine: “Dad its cold,” “Dad I have to go to the bathroom,” and “Dad I’m hungry.” He’s 26 now and as I look back we had a lot of fun. He now stands in the front of my boat and tries to out fish me.

In 1994 a few friends got together in a cabin on the banks of the Cuiver River to form a fishing club for the weekend angler. Our objective was to fish tournaments in small lakes around the state of Missouri. Our first tournament took place on what was then a flooded Clearwater Lake. We had simple rules and about 12 boats. Take-off went as scheduled and Jake was then about 8 years old. By the end of the day we didn’t boat a fish, until the last 15 minutes or so Jake hooked into one with a silver rattletrap. As he approached the scales with his keeper fish everyone was in awe. Jake had his live keeper fish in a large soda cup with the tail up. It was large enough to take 3rd place which was the brass piece pulled off of the wood trophy. It seemed most of the other anglers were upset that he was able to weigh such a small fish. So the next meeting the members changed the first rule. All fish must be 15” or larger except for Pomme de Terre where 13” applied. Jake remained happy the whole ride home, as he got us in 3rd place.

My son and I have been fishing together ever since. Most of our fishing is done using plastics, jigs and spinner baits. It’s a little harder these days for Jake to get away from school and work to enjoy fishing with his dad. He is my best friend.

In July of 2000 Jake and I were invited to join a 4-man team fishing trip to Ontario Canada on a 65’ boat. We drove to the waters edge and unloaded our gear and off we went. The boat captain took us 8 hours to the top of Lake Nipagon where we untied our smaller boats and began fishing for walleyes around a small waterfall. Each boat carried hand held radios for weather alerts and time to eat from the captain. We spent a week on the water fishing for walleyes and northerns. Jake wound up catching the largest northern weighing in a just over 15 lb. We were never so relaxed on a fishing trip than our trip to Canada. Jake and I enjoyed two separate trips with the same guys fishing Canadian waters.

R Morrison