First fishing story and illustration

Submitted by Joey Albanese

The story goes, my father was setting up camp after leaving us down by the river bank to fish. It was me and my brother Chris who is younger than me and I believe he was six which would’ve made me seven at the time. 6-7!

I had a method of fishing that was one of my own. I would flip a Zebco upside down with the button engaged and pull the line out by hand, as if I was fly fishing . Then I would wave it back-and-forth in the same manner, you know? As regular fly fisherman would. This time it went a little different.

Picture us standing on the large rocks above the water and right below us was a drop off and some water deep enough to sneak right up on some them fish.

So I’m doing my whipping thing and I must’ve caught something behind me and the button clicked while I was pulling so when I was yanking forward I had caught what I believed was a tree. So I yank and I yank and I yank to get the hook free but when I turn around it’s just my little brother with his mouth wide-open trying to scream, but he’s in too much pain so he can’t breathe or yell or anything so he’s just standing there with my hook directly in his arm. I stopped yanking and then he let out a long scream and here comes dad.

I believe I said, “Sorry dad I thought I was snagged.” He then said “You were! Yeah, right into your brother’s arm!”

I wasn’t allowed to do the fly fish anymore.