This was our first bass fishing trip together. We had been crappie fishing and cat fishing, but this was totally different. We were only using artificials, something that she was not accustomed to. It was an early morning in April and I was about to take my wife Wendy on a fishing trip that she and I would never forget.

 We both got up around 6 a.m. and loaded my 10ft Pelican Bass boat onto my truck. I could see that she was full

of anticipation about the day we were about to embark on. The place we were headed was full of very good bass. I knew that she would enjoy herself, but what I didn’t realize is that she would catch the fish of a lifetime.

So we headed to the little 5-acre private pond and launched our boat. The fog was still on the water and the fish were eager to cooperate right on schedule. Being an inexperienced baitcaster, I had a feeling that she might need a little help. Boy was I ever so wrong! She made cast after cast without a hitch. She caught a couple of nice bass and her eyes lit up like a kid in a candy store.

I had been working with Wendy a little in our yard, having her cast into 5-gallon bucket and teaching her the basics. I even tried to make it fun by filling up a small bowl with water and having a little contest. She picked up the technique really fast and when she hit the bowl you would think she had just caught a “fat daddy 10 lb bucket-mouth”. I was truly amazed at how quickly she caught on to the concept. So now the "trash talking" began. I would make it into the bowl and then she would make it. So for around an hour we went back and forth casting into the bowl.

It was this practice that prepared Wendy for her first day of bass fishing. She fished like a pro without any hesitation. Throughout the day, we kept on catching good bass but we still hadn’t found the proverbial mother-load yet. As the day went on she was more and more relaxed and even more confident in her new found ability. The fishing started to slow down a bit and just when I thought Wendy would be getting bored she unleashed her second wind. She had asked me to move the boat closer to this shore line area near a man-made dam. So without question, I did. I made a good cast into an area and landed a really nice 3lb bass within minutes. Meanwhile, Wendy had made the best cast of her life right up against the bank. She had switched tactics on me. She was fishing a green watermelon Tiki worm, Texas-rigged. But it wasn’t so much the lure she was fishing; it was how she was fishing it. She was dead sticking the bait. She would cast this Tiki worm out and just let it sit there. Just as she got ready to reel it in to make another cast “bam” there it was!

She told me she was hung up and needed help, so I coached her on how to get what appeared to be a tree limb free from her line. The tree limb broke lose and was coming towards the boat. As it got closer, I noticed a white belly under this tree limb. At this point, it wasn’t fighting at all. Once the fish realized it was hooked, the line started moving and Wendy got really excited. Her eyes were as big as one of Tiger Woods golf balls, and I have to admit mine were too. Her rod bent over as if she was hooked into Moby Dick. I had just passed that rod and reel on to her the week before this trip. She kept pressure on the fish and worked it closer to the boat. Just as it got closer it made another attempt to swim deeper. All I could think about was her line breaking or if she playing the fish right. I kept on telling her “don’t lose it baby… don’t lose her” The way I was acting you would have swore that I was the one with the monster bass. I was honestly a nervous wreck.

Wendy kept her cool through all the excitement and played the bass back to the boat like she was Kevin Van Dam in the Bassmasters Classic. This time, she won. The fish finally surfaced and I about fell out of the boat with excitement. I was shaking and nervous, she was shaking and I was totally beside myself at that point. I was also kind of bragging a little bit because she caught it with the rod that I passed on to her. My wife had just caught her 1^st big Largemouth Bass with me; an 8 1/2 pounder! Once we got the fish in the boat Wendy finally got to put her hands on it. She held the fish up for pictures and you could tell that she would never forget this day.  The joy in her eyes was priceless, but the joy I felt of introducing a new angler to this wonderful sport will last a lifetime.

Since that trip we have been on several fishing adventures together. We always try to make it fun and we always give our trip a tournament type feel. She is also my biggest fan as I fish the Toyota Tundra Bassmasters Weekend Series. Wendy had the chance to be an observer during one of my tournaments on High Rock Lake in North Carolina. Since then she has been hooked on the tournament fishing side of bass fishing. She is considering fishing the tour herself in 2008. I have to say that I did not expect to have that much of an impact, but I am happy that she has found solace in something like fishing. She also became a member of the Federation Nation Bass Club I started. She is the Secretary/Treasurer. She joined The Bass Anglers Sportsman Society and reads every issue.

The moral of this story is simple. It’s our job to introduce as many new members as possible to fishing and the outdoors. This sport is funny in a way, because it turns grown men into little boys and women into little girls all over again. When we are out on the water we can find a little peace from an otherwise very busy world. No computers, no cell phones and no meetings; just you and the fish doing battle on God’s grand stage.