Thread: Billy and The Kid

If you don't get to writing, everyone will forget they ever read the durn story and you'll get no views and no posts! SLACKER!~

Ha! Take that G-3, you Doubting Thomas you.

Chapter 20 - Part 1

Billy made quick time of his new morning routine including putting the dishes away from the night before and was out the door is less than 45 minutes, but nearly tripped over William sitting on his front steps. Had it not been for his youth and agility, he probably would have. William had even surprised himself with the quickness in his step when his feet hit the floor that morning at 4:30. Of course, at his age, his routine took just over an hour, but still that wasn’t bad for a man his age and he had to make breakfast for two. Even with the extra time though, he’s still been sitting on the porch for more than a half hour though. He’d listened to the birds and watched the squirrels dodge the cars and enjoyed every dang minute of it. The only unpleasantness he’d had was when his mind struggled to figure out just when exactly was the last time he’d been fishing. Was it two years or was it three? Could it have been four? He remembered it was warm, but not hot. And windy. It blew that day to beat the band. He remembered it was the last time for sure because he hadn’t caught a single fish and broke a brand new rod when his boat blew into a stump and sandwiched it between the gunnel and a limb. He still remembered how mad he was about it when he came in to the ramp and how by the time he’d backed the truck down his boat had blown sideways on the ramp and every last bad word he’d said when he went to crank the motor and set the prop down on some rip-rap and tore it to pieces. Looking back on it now, he couldn’t even remember why that made him so mad. He’d torn the prop up on that old 9.9 dozens of times. It was while the prop was at the shop that he started feeling sick, looking back on it now he thought. Of course, he had kept it to himself for too long and just kept thinking it was something that would pass. He’d made excuses to himself and then to Ann about why he didn’t seem to want to fish any more. Funny thing was, if he’d been able to keep on fishing, Ann probably never would have figured out something was wrong with him and he’d probably never had the chance to meet Billy at all.

“Mr. Baker, what are you doing out here? Is everything all right?” “Right as rain, Billy. I was just in a hurry to go fishing this morning”. “You sure you’re up to it today?” “Billy, I’ve never been so sure of anything in all my life.”. Billy’s look shifted from concern to the biggest smile William had ever seen. “Well, let’s get going then”.

William knew the spring in his step wouldn’t hold all day, so they made plans to split up and William would drive the tackle around to the little house rather than wasting the energy on the walk through the woods and Billy would get the boat and meet him on the other side. By the time William made it around, Billy was already pushing the boat into the water. He must have run the whole way to the lake, William realized and grinned to himself. The trip across the lake gave William a little time to respool his two spinning reels and rig up a couple of cork and jig rigs. He studied the water and picked out two hand tied jigs that a friend of his from West Virginia had made special for him. One color was called Pbug and the other William named Old Friend. Old Friend William had custom ordered just to his specs, Pbug was a slightly different twist on Old Friend that Jason had suggested and, to William’s surprise, would sometimes outfish Old Friend. William couldn’t think of two better ties in his box to teach this upstart a lesson he wouldn’t forget and he smirked to himself has he clipped the last tag line.

William turned his attention back to the lake and Billy coming across. He was surprised at how well he was handling that boat with the paddle, especially for someone so new at it. The boat was tracking as well as William thought he could manage and Billy wasn’t making the mistake most people do by trying to overpower the boat and get in a hurry to get where they were going. Billy was making nice smooth figure 8s and just gliding across. About two thirds of the way, Billy stopped, switched hands, and turned in his seat to finish the run with his left hand. “Yep”, Willliam thought to himself, “he still hasn’t built up the muscle yet”. That’s when the wheels came off Billy’s little bus. The boat was spinning and his figure 8’s turned in to figure 3s, 7s and William even thought figured 17s at one point. William couldn’t help but giggle a little when Billy stepped out to pull the boat up. Billy noticed, but didn’t seem to mind. “That left hand still gives me trouble, Mr. Baker” “Me too Billy, it’ll come to you with practice though. “Do you want the front or the back Mr. Baker?” “If it’s OK with you Billy, I’ll take the first turn at the front and then we’ll switch when I run out of steam.” “Sounds good to me.” Billy was always agreeable like that. As they loaded their tackle, William wondered if Billy was so confident in himself that he was agreeable or whether he was agreeable because he wasn’t confident in himself. He never really answered that question to himself, but decided that in either case, it was a quality that would serve Billy well for the rest of his life.


Wannabe...

Double Ha - Take this too

Chapter 20 - Part 2


They loaded up and Billy climbed in the back and William pushed them away. “Where do you think we should try first, Mr. Baker?” “I was hoping you could make a suggestion Billy, you know this lake better than I do” “Well, I’ve been spending most of my time around that point over there or either this pocket over here lately” “Most of my bigger fish have come from the point, but it seems I catch more in the pocket”. “Have you fished either of these points back here?” “No Sir, I just haven’t gotten to them yet”. “OK, well, let’s start out in the cover and go for the numbers, then we’ll work over to the point and go for a big one. If I’ve still got the energy, let’s try whichever of those points looks best to you and fish something new. How does that sound?” “Like music to my ears Mr. Baker”

They made their way over to the cove and set up in the center between what William guessed was where the creek or drain should be and the shoreline. From this vantage point they could work the deeper water and the little bit of wood on what William guess was the flat and still have a good chance of making the weed line. “What do you think of this spot here Billy?” “Looks good to me, I’ve caught more on the other side back there, but this looks pretty similar” There he went being agreeable again. “Let’s drop the anchors and try it for a bit. And they did.

Wiliam let Billy make the first cast and William watched in amazement at the skill he’d developed in these few weeks. He was fluid and purposeful with no wasted movements or overpowering forward stroke. “You’ve gotten pretty handy with that rod Billy” “Yes sir, I’ve been working at it.” And Billy allowed himself a smile as he tripped the bail. William took the next cast and he smiled to himself at how rusty he’d become as he tripped the bail. They both worked their ends of the boat toward the shoreline for the next few minutes. Billy was lost in thought about what needed to be changed and his next cast. William was lost in thought about the seeming hitch in his swing and why he couldn’t get that stupid jig to go exactly where he wanted it when Billy set the hook on the first fish and played him in. It was nothing to brag about, but it broke the ice and was a picture perfect way to start the day. William was impressed with how healthy it looked and that it had more weight than it’s 8 inches would lead you to believe. Billy released it and they both reset for their next target. William adjusted his cork a little shallower…not because he thought the fish were shallower, but because he thought it might make it a little easier to get that stupid jig next to that stupid tree limb this time. Billy didn’t change a thing and with the flick of his wrist, the cork settled back close to the twig where that fish had just come from. Billy had just made his second turn of the handle when he set the hook again. This one was a little longer but not quite as heavy as the first. Again, William admired the fish and congratulated him. Then he moved his cork a little shallower again. Billy managed 2 more before William was able to answer with ond of his own. “There he is!” William said and he played him to the boat only to have him come off right at the end. “I hate that for you Mr. Baker”. “Just wasn’t meant to be Billy” William said but underneath he was ready to chew nails. They fished on and William managed to miss another, but the fishing had played out and they decided to move to the other side of the cove.

“Don’t worry Mr. Baker, you’ll get yours today, I can feel it.” “I hope you’re right Billy. I’m a lot rustier at this than I thought I’d be.” They reset the anchors within casting distance of the largest lay down William had seen so far. This one had some depth around it and some grass on the very back side. William reset a little deeper and made the first cast he’d been proud of all morning. He layed that jig right in the fork of a main branch and the cork settled in just behind it. “Perfect” he thought to himself. With one twitch it disappeared and it was obviously a good one. “There he is” William let out and round and round they went with William being careful not to let him get back into the tree. This time though, William brought him to the boat and lifted him high. “That might be the biggest I’ve seen come out of here Mr. Baker. How big do you think he is?” “He’s a good 12 inches Billy, maybe even 13” “How much do you think he weighs?” Oh, I’d say at least a pound, maybe a little more.” “Wow. Well, if I couldn’t catch him, I’m glad you did.” William admired him for a moment, then let him swim away. Things were looking up and he still had plenty of energy left. Maybe even a little more than he started with after that fish. “What’s the biggest you’ve ever caught Mr. Baker”. “Oh, maybe 18 inches or so. I didn’t measure him, but he was a smooth 3.23 pounds.” “I didn’t even know they got that big”. “Oh there’s some good fish out there in the big lake alright. 2 pounders are not that uncommon” “Huh. Maybe we’ll get us a couple one day Mr. Baker.” Billy sort of trailed off in the middle of that sentence almost like he wished he hadn’t said it halfway through.

That puzzled William for a moment, then it hit him that in all his own excitement, he hadn’t told Billy what had happened with the doctor. And Billy hadn’t even asked. William put down his rod and reset himself. “Billy, I didn’t tell you about the doctor’s office did I?” “Billy reeled in the last of his cast and set his rod across his lap and turned towards Mr. Baker with his legs. “No sir, you….didn’t”. Billy was bracing himself for bad news. “Billy, the doctor gave me the all clear, said I was fit as a fiddle. He gave me some pills to get my energy back up and said he didn’t want to see me again for at least a half a year.” Billy smiled at first, then it faded and he looked down at the bottom of the boat. “So…” He cleared his throat “you’re going to be alright then?” Billy wasn’t sure if he was being told the truth or whether Mr. Baker was protecting him. “No Billy, I’m going to be great!” Billy looked up and saw Mr. Baker’s grin and knew this was the truth. Billy shot a grin back at him and said “So….does this mean I can stop taking it easy on you then with the fish?” Mr. Baker rolled with laughter. “No Billy, I’d rather you keep taking it easy on me if you don’t mind. I can’t have a young fella like you outfish me all day. What would Ann think of me?” William grabbed his rod and made a big commotion with his cast as if he was real intent on catching one ahead of Billy. After the prank played out a bit, Billy said, “I’m glad you’re going to be around for a good while longer Mr. Baker” William welled up a bit and after swallowing hard, “Billy, I’m glad you’re going to be around for a good while longer too”.

They fished on and Billy kept pulling away. The fishing was good today and the wind was light, which William was glad of. It’d been 15 years since he’d had to skull a boat by hand and was beginning to feel it. Still, he was proud that’d he’d managed to pull back within 4 fish of Billy’s count of 9.

“OK Billy, I’ve had about enough of this paddle. Would you mind taking over?” “I’d be happy to. They gingerly swapped ends without too much wide eyed commotion. “Let’s try one of those new points back there Billy” “I’m on it.” As Billy skulled over, they talked about the weather, the fishing, days gone by and days to come. William enjoyed that conversation as much as any with a grown man he’d ever had too. He wasn’t sure if he was enjoying Billy so much, or if it was just the fact that the dark corner of his mind was finally gone. After listening to Billy talk for a bit more, he decided it was Billy he was enjoying and the lack of that dark place was just a bonus.


Wannabe...

Tripple Ha - HA, HA, HA or Ha x 3 if you will.

Chapter 20 - Part 3

They set up again on a decent looking spot and went back at it. Considering the luck they’d had so far, they were just about to lose confidence after 10 minutes had passed with no takers when Billy said “There he is.” “Oh, he’s a good one too. William stopped what he was doing to watch. Billy was doing a superb job of handling the fish in and was enjoying the moment when the fish came up and William scrambled to the center seat to help if he could when he saw the size of it. “Don’t lose him Billy” was all he could manage to make come out of his mouth. Billy’s mouth had completely stopped working. The fish made one last lunge under the boat and both Billy and William held their breath but Billy almost instinctively held the rod as far away from the boat as possible so the fish wouldn’t get on the boat and at the same time put pressure on him to keep him out of the anchor line when all of the sudden the fish just gave up and Billy reached down an picked him up. “Man what a fish!” “That’s a Jim Dandy, Billy, A JIM DANDY.” Billy lifted and turned him. “I can’t believe I don’t have a ruler with me” “I’d say he’s 13 easy, maybe 14 inches and at least a pound and three quarters. Look how thick he is.” Billy was beaming. “Here, let’s lay him out on the seat and we’ll put a mark on the bench and that way you can measure it later.” They used a hook to scratch out a line to mark where the fish’s tail ended from the edge of the boat on the center seat. Billy made the mark very distinctive and a little larger and deeper than it needed to be, but Billy wanted to make dang sure he got a good measurement later. That scratch was still visible the very last time Billy ever fished out of The Shadow some 12 years later and as much as Billy fished that little pond, he never did catch one any longer. But he never forgot it either. Neither did William.

Before William had finished, he had pulled to within 2 fish, but he finally had to concede defeat with the final count being William 9 and Billy 11, but that was only because Billy let William count the 1 little Bass, which William appreciated. It had been a banner day and one William would often think about, but he’d stayed a little longer than he really should have and his shoulder, back and legs weren’t going to let him forget it the next day either. “Billy, I hate to say it, but I think I need to head on back” “Yes sir, I’ve got some chores I need to do before my Mom gets home anyway.” There he went being agreeable again.

Wannabe...

OK, so it was a long winded chapter....sue me. Had to chop it into 3 parts due to a character limit on a single post.

What's up with the new funky font?

Hey, I'm just the talent on this deal. You need to call either production or the printing department with that question.

Wannabe...

Good job!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'll quit posting on that crankbait thread for awhile.

Thanks WB, I have really enjoyed this adventure you have taken us on. I know there is a lot of ribbing going on here on this forum but I give you a sincere THANK YOU!!!