Big Poppa Pump.

The "disease" is gearing up in all its splendid glory. It senses what awaits after a long and filling Thanksgiving meal. The anticipation has been building for weeks, Great Lakes Steelhead Round 2. This time, we will be rolling to Erie looking for some sweet, sweet chrome. The anticipation has been killing me, and seeing the new Drake Video Award films did not help me concentrate on my schoolwork. Im kinda like RA Beattie in Stream of Consciousness, except instead of listening to a client, im sitting through a lecture on political theory. My mind is wondering about dead drifts under thingamobobbers, beef jerkey, and how drunk I was the night before. The situation is repeated right now, I have a 9 am tomorrow and a paper due but I'm tying flies and writing a blog. John Stuart Mill and Sparknotes can wait until uhhh say 8:15. Anyway, hopefully the conditions will be prime this weekend, and by prime I'm talking lake effect snow.

Praise the Steel.

Speaking of prime, Big Poppa Pump himself will be making his first appearance this fall on any fly fishing trip. His massive amount of experience (six times fly fishing?) will come in handy attempting to cast, hook, and land fish amongst other anglers. Bring your hard hats everyone, this could get ugly. All kidding aside, I am looking forward to showing Pops the ropes of steelheading. Anytime, he gets to come out and fish with my brother and I is a treat. He rarely catches anything, but when he does it makes for an exciting moment. The first time he ever went fly fishing with us, he hooked into a 20 inch rainbow and proclaimed, (to our astonishment) "WHOA, I GOT THE BIG ONE"!!! Needless to say, he did not land the fish, but anytime it is brought up leads to major laughs. Another example, the second time my father went fly fishing, was a week long trip to Colorado. In four days of fishing, my father caught one trout. He has got some mad skills with a fly rod. He has since made some progression and I am looking forward to having him land some steel this weekend.

That is One Sexy Dude.

WOAH, I GOT THE BIG ONE!

(actual battle, somehow captured)

His only Fish in Four Days.

Notice, the patented Big Poppa Pump Landing Technique.

I look at these experiences with my father as my way of repaying him for everything he has taught me in life. Taking my brother and sister fishing when we were young and painfully puting up with us by untying birdnests of 20lb test that we somehow conjured at the ends of our lines took some serious patience. Fast forward to this weekend, in all likelihood I will be the one untying birds nests at the end of his line. It is ironic how things have flip flopped over time. For my dad, watching me grow up and become who I am today is probably one of the highlights of his life. While sharing my passion with him, in all likelihood, will be one of the highlights of my life.