The Sportsman's Corner

I have a friend we'll call "John Doe" who owns a nice outdoor property. John keeps a few trout in a small pond there. However, by this spring the population was down to one large palomino (yes, I know it's actually a golden rainbow). During the dry weather the pond was drying up. John knew he'd have to move the trout out of the pond if it were to survive.

Recently he asked me if I'd help him get the palomino to the Big Spring in town. "Yes," I agreed in front of my new pastor, Matt Roberts. "I'll call Bob (my son). We'll help get the trout to town."

Matt, an enthusiastic sportsman, volunteered to help.

After work on July 16, Bob arrived at the church; and Bob; Amber, his daughter; and I piled into his truck while Pastor Matt and his oldest son, Lain, followed us to John's property in Matt's SUV. Both Bob and Matt had brought along huge landing nets.

When we arrived at the pond, a gentle rain turned into a thundering deluge, so Amber was unable to use her cellphone to video what turned out to be a "circus." The first thing that went wrong was that Bob became mired in the putrid muck at the lower end of the pond. Matt, a mountain of a man, was able to pull him free. Without Matt, Bob might still be stuck there. I had worn a pair of chest waders, and I'd ventured into the mud, too, when making a stab at the fish with one of Bob's big nets. "Geez, Dad, how could a 'great' fisherman like you miss that big fish? All you did was muddy the water."

For a while we couldn't even see the trout. About 30 minutes later Bob called John on his cellphone. Minutes later John arrived and skillfully lowered the water level. As the now-visible trout swam around in circles, I managed to get a net in front of him, and he swam into it. This was more than an hour into the adventure.

As the downpour continued, we transported the trout to town. I "volunteered" to ride in the back of Bob's pick-up to make sure the water-filled garbage can containing the trout didn't fall over. Amber laughed as a steady waterfall ran down my cap's brim into my waders.

At the Big Spring Bob, Matt, Lain, and John released the trout. Soaked, the six of us watched as the palomino quickly adjusted to his new home and met his new trout friends.