CMA719's son

Not my story to tell but I'm going to share it with the board anyway. Hope Mark and his son don't mind.

Mark and his son were recently fishing a small body of water near where they live. Sorry I don't know his son's name, Mark maybe you can add it to the thread. They set up to fish and shortly afterward Mark reeled in a small bullhead. A woman and her very young child saw him land it so the woman went back to her car returning shortly afterwards with what would best be described as a saltwater surf rod. As we've all experienced, the woman literally ended up casting right over where Mark and his son were fishing. Being the gentleman they are, they elected to not say anything.

Not long after Mark's son reeled in a nice 4-5 lb channel catfish. The woman insisted on having a picture taken with her little boy which Mark's son accommodated by holding the fish while her boy stood next to him. After the picture was taken the woman asked if she could have the fish to show people at home. Mark's son insisted he wanted to release the trophy for this lake but the woman insisted and had the gall to take one of their bags, empty the contents, take the channel catfish out of Mark's son's hands and place it in the bag for herself. Imagine the nerve of this woman but most of us have witnessed similar behavior which is what I'm getting to.

In the meantime, Mark was reeling in an eel that ended up being gut hooked. Trying to be polite, he suggested the woman release the channel and take the eel as an option. Woman said she didn't want the eel, wanted to keep the channel.

Here's where the story gets great! With that, Mark's son went over to the bag, took the channel catfish out, walked down to the water's edge and released it. He turned to the woman and said this is a trophy fish, it doesn't deserve to die, you need to respect nature and allow this fish to live while others experience the same enjoyment he did catching a fish that size. This keep in mind from a 9-year-old!

I posted this thread for a few reasons. First kudos to Mark for raising his son with the values obviously he has. Second even more kudos to his son for having the conviction to act in the matter he did. Third because I believe there's a bigger lesson to be learned that most of us already know but bears pointing out. Fishing is so much more than catching. Getting kids involved at an early age teaches them so many values that will be applied throughout the rest of their lives while developing custodians of our sport to insure its future for generations to come. I know Mark was about to jump in when the woman took the channel catfish out of his son's hands but he waited long enough and gave his boy a long enough leash to be his own man even at the tender age of 9 yrs old. I know how proud Mark is of his two boys, I was almost in tears when he told me the story.

Small wins, small victories, recreational fishing as a means for the entire family unit to spend and enjoy time together as well as the values it teaches young adults is what it's all about. Personally I couldn't be more proud of Mark's son and I wanted to give Mark and both his boys a shout out on the site for not only doing the right thing but doing it in a very tactful and professional manner while having the conviction to stick to their guns and not back down when many would have. It's exactly the kind of behavior and values we need to cultivate. Thought it was a great story and wanted to share it with the board. Mark I hope you don't mind me stealing your story but you and your boy are probably too humble to have posted it. I think it's a great story we can all learn from. Kudos again to your two boys who are turning into quite the fisherman and are being brought up the right way in a world where too many kids are only concerned with social media. GREAT stuff!