Rob Lanham and his sons, Noah (7) and Brody (5), came for a short little Chattanooga vacation. Mom lined me up for a quick fishing foray for the boys and was really worried about the boys catching "a fish."
She needn't have worried... the boys caught "a fish," and much more. The water beneath Chickamauga dam was running very light to start with. Only about 6,000 cfs. We couldn't hardly drift but we found one bunch of pretty good fish holed up in a pocket. Me and Dad did most of the "hooking," while Noah and Brody did all the "reeling."
Noah especially is a hardcore fisherman. I haven't seen many 7-year-olds with his intensity. It sure did make me smile every time Noah started screaming, "It's huge! It's absolutely huge! It's a huge one!!!"
They did catch a few quality fish, including a 20-pounder that all three Lanham's got to "tag team." I shot a tiny bit of video of the fight that lasted MUCH longer than what I recorded.
Noah scared me later in the morning when Dad was ready to head back in by saying, "I just want to catch one more." It always worries me when anybody says that.
But true to his word, we were able to get Noah and Brody a double on to end the fishing. Then we went "boat ridin'" up Chickamauga Creek, osprey-watching and even a little "gar watching." It was just an all-around fun morning on the water... which means life is good and gettin' better every day.
She needn't have worried... the boys caught "a fish," and much more. The water beneath Chickamauga dam was running very light to start with. Only about 6,000 cfs. We couldn't hardly drift but we found one bunch of pretty good fish holed up in a pocket. Me and Dad did most of the "hooking," while Noah and Brody did all the "reeling."
Noah especially is a hardcore fisherman. I haven't seen many 7-year-olds with his intensity. It sure did make me smile every time Noah started screaming, "It's huge! It's absolutely huge! It's a huge one!!!"
They did catch a few quality fish, including a 20-pounder that all three Lanham's got to "tag team." I shot a tiny bit of video of the fight that lasted MUCH longer than what I recorded.
Noah scared me later in the morning when Dad was ready to head back in by saying, "I just want to catch one more." It always worries me when anybody says that.
But true to his word, we were able to get Noah and Brody a double on to end the fishing. Then we went "boat ridin'" up Chickamauga Creek, osprey-watching and even a little "gar watching." It was just an all-around fun morning on the water... which means life is good and gettin' better every day.
