I had the honor recently of taking out crappie fishing 4 brothers Curtis, Tim, Bobby, Joe, and their good friend Rick for 2 days on High Rock Lake, NC. Now about a month prior Curtis reached out to me through FB messenger and told me he and his brothers and a good friend always do a spring fishing trip somewhere and this year they chose High Rock Lake. Curtis went on to explain that he watches and loves my YouTube fishing channel RP Fishing and how he had been tasked to find a fishing guide for their upcoming trip, preferably a Christian, and asked if I might know one. I told Curtis that I currently guide on High Rock and I was not sure if I could accommodate his needs but if I couldn't that I would be glad to find him one of the other great guides from High Rock Lake that could. Without hesitation he messaged me back stating that he would like to book me for 2 days for their upcoming trip. I responded to Curtis, I will put them down for the 9th & 10th and look forward to seeing them in about a month.

Now things that occur in my life don't really hit me till later because I have always been that kind of person that reacts before thinking, this event was no different. Now not to get all holly rollie I received Jesus Christ as my lord and savior about 16 years ago after deep research and many trials and tribulations. As I think to myself "Am I Good Christian?" cause if anyone knows me, I had a wild past and man to this day I fall short from grace. Not including the last 2 months I have been questioning my faith and what direction Yahweh is sending me. I know, I know as you read this your probably saying "What Does This Have To Do With Taking 4 Brothers and Rick Fishing!!!" LOL it will come to a point in a bit.

Everyone needs to know something about being a good fishing guide there is a lot of preparation prior to a guide trip. Getting the rods ready, prepping the boat, thinking what bait to use, where are the fish going to be and ugh filling the boat and truck up with gas. Also, for me the biggest fear and probably the fear of many other fishing guides what if the fish don't bite and we don't catch many!

Well, the time came 3 of the 4 Brothers Curtis, Tim, and Bobby showed up and as we say in the South these boys are corn fed boys, meaning pretty big guys. All of which I learned later had played sports in high school and college. Now "I Will Tell You What" (LOL "A Little Ralphie Expression There") my next job I apply for will be a Weatherman, because the day called for 100% rain between 7AM to 8AM tapering off to overcast skies and maybe a little later in the day 35% chance of rain between 1PM & 2PM. "WRONG" it rained almost all day and I didn't prep for it!!! The Weatherman's job is the only job I know where you can be wrong 90% of the time and still get paid LOL! The good thing though that the rain didn't stop the crappie from biting. Curtis had recently purchase Active Target for his boat, so he wanted to learn more about forward facing sonar. My Garmin Live Scope didn't disappoint, and we caught several good crappies suspended. Also, a tip for other anglers reading this the fish on High Rock Lake right now are still in many transitions some suspended, some spawning and a few on brush and some on docks.

Now the day's fishing was awesome we caught probably over 100 crappies throughout the day, and they took home around 40 good eaters! You just have to watch out for Bobby "He will eat any size"... as the other brothers said laughingly! At the end of day 1 Curtis, Tim, and Bobby stated they had an awesome time, learned a lot, and they were so excited for their friend Rick and older brother Joe, better known as "Hoss" day on the lake. Funny they told me look out for Hoss because he is a talker. I had to laugh cause anyone that knows me probably thinks that I am the same way!

Day 2 came, and I picked up Rick and Brother 4 Joe and once again the Weatherman got the weather wrong. Today's forecast no chance of rain and temperatures rising throughout the day. The Weatherman done a little better this time he was 50% right, it rained first thing in the morning but did clear up later in the day with the sun even popping out.

I knew that if the rain stopped and with hardly any wind that the good fish should start to bite, I was right! I went with my gut and went to a cove I knew it was time for the fish to start pulling in and they were there. I have Millennium Double Seats on the front of my boat, so we sat Joe in one of them and Rick decided he wanted to fish standing up. I explained to them how they needed to fish for the suspended crappie, and it took them no time and they had it down. One fish after another started coming into the boat. The funny thing was Joe wasn't talking as much as Brothers 3 all said he would. Joe was fixed into catching fish and boy did him and Rick catch fish.

Day 2 couldn't have ended better either! Right at the end of the day I looked up and told them "Oh Boy There Is A Big One"...Joe's perfect throw caught him his PB crappie almost a 2 pounder. Joe was over the moon, but he wasn't finished yet. Just a few minutes after that I told Joe there is a big catfish want you try and catch that one on this light tackle. Boom Joe hooked up with the big catfish and after about a 10-minute fight Rick netted a 10lb blue catfish. I will never forget Joe's final words that day after asking them if they wanted to fish a little longer. Joe said, " No I am done I just caught my PB Crappie and PB Catfish My Day Is Complete!".

Now just as day 1 Joe, Rick, and I all talked, laughed, told stories of the past and plans in the future. I even got an invite from Rick who is an avid fisherman and I believe likes fishing just as much as me, to come stay at his cabin in North Franklin County, NC and fish on his private land for big trout, I can't wait!!!

Wow what a special 2 days with some Great Men! But that wasn't what made the 2 days special for me. What made the 2 days special for me was the stories I got to hear about the 4 brothers and Rick and how they picked amongst each other all day long. Hearing these stories and the joy of watching these guys catching fish took me away from my worries and the problems of the world for several hours. "That's What I Believe Fishing Is Truly About!".

That takes us back to what I said earlier about am "I a good Christian or Not" and how I have been questioning my faith and even you maybe questioning your faith right now, cause your dealing with something hard in your life. Let's think about this why did Curtis reach out to me, out of the millions of people in the world why me. As much as I hate to have to say it, I believe it was because "God Still Has A Plan For Me!"...Just as he has a plan for you!!!! It may be hard to see right now as it has been for me, but the clarity of his plan is starting to show. And if you're looking for clarity hold in there, it will come.

I hope you enjoyed this blog and maybe it put a smile on your face! JEREMIAH 29:11

Today's Blog Is Sponsored by these Amazing Products

Millennium Sidekick Double Seat https://amzn.to/4avJ4cM

Millennium Marine B100 Boat Seats https://amzn.to/3TRzsC6