Missing my old fishing buddy

[PapermouthLegend]

My best fishing buddy Mike, that I had known for 20 years since I was kid, passed on two years ago this April. I was thinking about him while reading some forums on here. I wanted to share an experience that he and I had that is the funniest thing that ever happened to me possibly in my entire life.
When we were in our early 20's we hung around the bars a lot and there was a guy named 'Jamie' that always had a bigger fish. Well Jamie could never be outdone when it came to fishing. He hung out at the local bar and walked into our fishing conversations, often uninvited. Finally one day we decided we wanted to see how he could handle a big fish. So we took him to the river armed with cream corn and whole kernal Corn looking for some Carp. We figured this would be a good test for him. We told him to run home and get his gear meet us at the railroad tressel. About 30 minutes later he showed up with his rod and reel and we walked down to the spot. My buddy Mike kept saying to me "Look at his rod"! I looked and the guy had K-Mart fisherman (Kfisher) fiberglass rod with a cheap plastic reel on it. I ask Jamie if he would like to borrow one of my rods. He said "I've caught 30 lb catfish on this rod!" So I didn't say another word. We baited the hole with the cream corn and put some whole kernal corn on the hook. We gave Jamie the prime location. After about 5 minutes his line began to move slowly down river. Finally it tightened and almost jerked the pole in the water. He pulled for all he was worth and all we could hear was "SNAP!" We looked up and his rod had been shattered just above the handle. Mike and I had a few beers in us by this point and began to laugh uncontrollably. Jamie stood there in disbelief and about 1/4 of his pole in his hand. I started to take a poloroid picture when all of the sudden his reel fell off the handle and rolled down in the water. He stood there with just the handle of that cheap pole when I took the picture. The picture still hangs in that bar today.
I got to thinking about my old buddy Mike on here. As I prepare for the season each year I still want to pick up the phone and call him. I hope you all enjoy this story as much as I enjoy telling it.

[rcfillingham]

Papermouth Legend
Im tippin a Coors lite in honor of yer buddy. My lifelong huntin and fishin pal just left for home after a week of fun. I cant imagine not havin him around. Hang in there.
RCF

[danny]

Thats a good story PapermouthLegend I for one am a very lucky man have quite a few friends that i fish with all the time oh the stories we could tell on each other. God bless your friend Mike he is in a better place.We all know someone like Jamie.

[Jerry Blake]

Great story! I still miss my Crappie Fishing Mentor, Lee Roy Rodgers - http://www.actionfishingtrips.com/LeeRoy.htm.

[FisherMike]

Great story.

Great friends are truly a part of your family.
And losing one hurts just as bad.

[talltimber]

I guess that shut down the braggin for a while. LOL Neat story.

[Slabo]

Memories of good friends and good fun will last forever. Great story

[klight1122]

Legend, so sorry for your loss. You do have some great memories that will last until the end. As for you Danny, what happens while fishing stays until we pass:......Understood? :o

Thats a good story PapermouthLegend I for one am a very lucky man have quite a few friends that i fish with all the time oh the stories we could tell on each other. God bless your friend Mike he is in a better place.We all know someone like Jamie.

[fishing buddy]

Good fishing buddys are so hard to find!! Aleast you can still remember and laugh about the good times.

[dedfish]

Haha, great story