Butch
Butch is a big brother at its best to me. This man can make some bait also let me tell you. He’s the one that show me just what the texture was to bait. Make rice bait like no other and his pack bait I only know of one mans to be any better and that was his Dad (the one that started it George Smith). I like to get over there when he was making bait for that was when I was learning and it was from one of the best carpers I know. If I ask something he did not give me the run around he would answer it for me if he could whatever it was. When you have someone like that then you have to listen and ask things. For he is willing to teach you; and that in its self is worth listening too.
The other thing that he taught me was the landing and playing of the fish. Watching this man play a fish was something else I tell you. When he was doing that the others would tell me to watch him for he was one of the best at it that they had seen do it. This man could put that fish were ever he wanted it to go. It did not matter were the carp went under the line or all around the line. He could get that carp out of it and not even mass the other one up. I watch him many times do this when it would tie some ones else’s line up. I have even seen him lose a fish just not to mass someone up and let me tell you this that is one thing that you hardly see on a Pay-Lake. But it is what my teachers told me was the way that we show respect to the others that were fishing. Other ways that we did this was if someone had a big fish and we knew it we would get our reels out of the water so that he would not have to worry with them. To always net a fish like it was your own.
To watch him was like seeing someone conduct sympathy or choir he done it in such a way. You could see every move the fish made or whatever was taking place with it in his face. You knew when it was fixing to make a run or a hook that pull out by watching his face.
He was always telling me too keep the line good and tight and not too horse the fish at all but to stay in control of it. When it wanted to make a run, let him have some line but to stay in control of it.
Butch could take the rod and turn that carp any way that he wanted too. It did not matter what the carp wanted to do. It did not matter where it went under and over and back under the other rod he would always get it too do just what he wanted it to do with the rod. That is something that you have too been able to watch to learn and is something very hard to try and tell you about. For I think that it is more instinct than anything else.
Brother forgive me but I have got to put this in. He was seeing the girl that was running the lake and something happen that we his brothers did not like at all. One of us said something about it one Saturday. He looks at him and listen and then said that he did not want to hear anything else about it. Well see Butch was the one that would not hurt a fly if you know what I mean. He told him that if he said anything else about it that he was going to pick him and the chair that he was setting in and throw him down the bank. Turn to walk away, the one that was talking look at me smile and said something else about it. Butch turns around and took a few steps and Lord and behold he pick up him chair and all and did just what he said that he was going to do. Down that bank went the guy and the chair you should have seen the look on his face when he was trying to get out of that chair and back up the back. Man that was another time that some others and I laugh so hard that we cry. Never will forget that Saturday! Even to Wallace laugh that day just the way that it is between brothers.
You could say that this story took place some 43 years ago and I’m 57 now a long time ago. When I did this story Butch was still alive. But I lost my Friend and Brother about a month ago. I was told that he left us while I was fishing at Ed’s Lake and that was one of the hardest thing that I had to deal with. I did not even know that he had die. Till that night at Ed’s Lake. I will all ways miss him in life and in carp fishing for he was one of the best that I ever knew in broth. He had been a friend and brother to me ever scents my dad pass away when I was only 11 years old. Him and his dad had all ways been in my life you know. Hard day! I did this story on May 31, 2003 and here it is Wednesday, May 15, 2013. Maybe I should get it up now!
Paul Daniel Collins
JustCarp’N
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