Fathers, Sons and Old Guns
(Following is the title chapter, “Fathers, Sons and Old Guns”, of my most recent book. The book is currently available at Amazon.com)
It began for the boy along about the Christmas of his sixth or seventh year. Dawn was still an hour or more away when the youngster crept out of bed. Peering sleepily around the corner through the living room door, his eyes scanned the brightly-wrapped packages spangled with tinsel and glitter beneath the tree.
His breath caught in his throat when he saw it – twinkling colored lights reflecting off the blue steel barrel and walnut stock. His first gun, the .410 he’d dreamed about.
That was thirty Christmases ago. Today, the boy is a man; a father with a son of his own. This Christmas, the old .410 will be passed down along with the memories it helped create; memories like the tomato can he peppered with holes the first time he shot it, the surprise he felt when his shoulder was whacked from the recoil, the rusty fox squirrel he rolled off a hickory limb, how he rushed up to it, picked it up and held it up for his proud father to see remembering the expression on his father’s face was one he’d never seen before.
Before he takes his son out with the old .410, there’ll be time for instruction; for answering youthful questions fired out from behind eyes wide with excitement. He’ll hand the boy the gun, unbreached, chamber empty, explaining how it functions; how it can be a faithful companion; how it can turn on you coldly if handled carelessly.
After the lesson, they’ll walk out back and prop a tomato can against a clay bank. The father will watch his son’s startled expression change to one of pride as the can spins and careens wildly when pellets perforate it.
It’s Saturday, and the man and boy make preparations for this, their first hunt together . . . the teacher and student.
Dawn brushes the eastern sky in a blend of delicate pastels as the two wait in the woods in suspenseful silence. A fallen log serves as a comfortable seat in the hardwood glade. On all sides of the ridge are hickories, the ground littered with fresh cuttings. At the foot of the ridge past the thicket, a creek meanders out of the hills to course lazily at the feet of silvery beeches and ancient cypresses.
The raspy rattle of a brown thrasher serves as a woodland wake-up call and a wren, scolding softly, hops to the end of the log where the two sit. Blue jays argue and fuss over acorns in an oak overhead.
The boy is drinking it all in when his dad touches his elbow and points to movement in a nearby hickory. It’s a squirrel. The boy spots it and then looks at his dad with a perplexed expression that says, “What do I do now?”
Regaining control, he remembers his dad’s instructions and waits until the squirrel scampers to the opposite side of the tree. Standing slowly, he eases forward a few steps. As the squirrel reappears and begins whacking away on a hickory nut, the youngster slowly raises the old gun, nestles the butt against the hollow of his slender shoulder, aims and touches the trigger.
There is no startled expression from the recoil this time. He feels no jolt but is aware only of the squirrel tumbling in a shower of leaves to the ground. With a whoop, the youngster rushes to it, picks it up, and grinning, looks back at his dad.
For a moment, the man doesn’t speak. He can’t. A unique bond has been created, an intangible essence of oneness that needs no explanation. It can only be experienced by a man and a boy, teacher and student, together under the hickories.
FISHING REPORT
CANEY LAKE – Bass are best at night on soft plastics and dark colored crank baits. Some are caught early morning around the grass on topwater lures. Some bass are chasing shad on the surface and are schooling. Shad imitation lures are working best.. Crappie are best around submerged tops in 16-18 foot water with shiners and jigs taking some nice fish. Bream both chinquapins and bluegills are moving off the beds but can still be caught on crickets and worms. For information contact Caney Lake Landing at 259-6649, Hooks Marina at 249-2347, Terzia Tackle at 278-4498 or the Honey Hole Tackle Shop at 323-8707.
BUSSEY BRAKE – Bass fishing continues to be good with some big fish still being brought in. Topwater lures early and soft plastics working best later. Crappie are on the flats and are biting on shiners or jigs. The bream bite is fair. For latest information, contact the Honey Hole at 323-8707.
OUACHITA RIVER – The water is falling and is quite low because of lock and dam problems down stream. Lazarre ramp and Joe Bob’s are now open with better catches of fish downstream. A good many catfish are being caught and crappie fishing is best around submerged tops in the river and in the bayou. Bass are hitting shad imitations in the cuts. For latest information, contact the Honey Hole Tackle Shop at 323-8707.
LAKE D’ARBONNE – Some bass are schooling and hitting topwater lures. Wobbleheads are picking up some fish around the grass. Best fishing is for fish suspended 4-5 feet deep above 12-14 foot water. Crappie are scattered and on the deep flats. Shiners and jigs are working best. Bream are fair. Catfish are good fishing off the banks. For latest information, call Anderson Sport Center at 368-9669 or Honey Hole Tackle Shop at 323-8707.
LAKE CLAIBORNE – Crappie fishing has been fair to good on jigs and shiners. Bass are around the banks and hitting topwaters early while later hitting hit jigs, spinners and soft plastics with some schooling reported on the surface. Night fishing has improved around lighted piers and boat docks on soft plastics and crank baits. Bream are scattered. Stripers are schooling and hitting shad imitations. For latest information, call Kel’s Cove at 927-2264 or Terzia Tackle at 278-4498.
LAKE POVERTY POINT – Catfish are good while bass and crappie are rather slow. For information, contact the marina at 318/878-0101.
LAKE YUCATAN – The water is falling with lots of catfish being caught. Bass and crappie are fair. For info call Surplus City Landing at 318/467-2259.