A couple of months ago a fellow outdoor writer wrote an article about how risky it was to take your wife fishing. At the time I wasn't sure what to make of the article so I cut it out to read at a later date. I have re-read the article several times and still can't tell if the author was serious or if he was joking (Corsicana Daily Sun, May 4, 2000, Caution: Taking wives fishing can be risky). Either way I decided to share a different point of view on the subject of taking your wife fishing.

On September 13, 1998, I was blessed to marry by best friend, Kelly. We developed a tremendous friendship over the years and fell in love in the process. A great deal of our time together was and still is spent enjoying the outdoors together. In fact, we spent our honeymoon in Mexico on a white-winged dove hunt. No, the hunt was not just my idea. We knew we were going to get married and decided, together, to use the dove hunt as a honeymoon.

Although Kelly is not serious about fishing, she still enjoys the outdoors and spending time with her favorite fisherman... me. Although we don't go fishing together all of the time, we do go sometimes and I love the time we spend together on the water or riverbank. It gives us time to visit without interruptions. We catch up on a lot of things that we normally wouldn't have time to share with each other. The fishing is second to the quality time spent with one another.

A good relationship is full of sacrifices and compromises. I am more than willing to give up the early morning bite to take the kids to school, if it means Kelly is going to go fishing with me. Don't get me wrong, I love to fish by myself or with a friend, but I also enjoy being accompanied by my best friend every once in a while.

If I have to wait for her to finish primping and prepping before heading to the lake, so be it. The way I look at it, she is just trying to fix herself up for my benefit. Besides, who wouldn't want to take a good-looking woman fishing and show her off a little bit, turn a few heads? The way I look at it, more guys would be happy to have their wives accompany them for a day of fishing, if their wives would go, a lot of them won't, mine will. I consider myself pretty lucky.

As for backing a boat trailer, I'll put Kelly up against any woman and most men at the boat ramp. By working with me on a daily basis in our landscape business, she pulls and backs trailers several times a week. She makes loading the boat a breeze rather than a chore. If you'll take the time to teach your wife how to back a trailer, she too can be a big help at a busy boat ramp.

The one area I did agree with my outdoor writing colleague on was the fact that taking your wife along can mean you eat better that day. Kelly is always good to make sure we have plenty to eat and drink. This is really good since I often forget to pack much in the way of food or drink in my haste to get to the water.

Next month my family and I are heading to Roaring River State Park in Cassville, Missouri to meet up with my parents for a few days of trout fishing. When the morning buzzer goes off to begin the day of fishing, I'll have to fight for position on the river with Kelly. She'll be right beside me "chunking and reeling" trying to catch more trout than I can. Frankly, I can't think of a better place for her to be. Besides, who would take the picture of her and her fish if I weren't there? Tatum and Megan (my daughters) will be too busy trying to catch their own fish to take pictures. If this constitutes a risk, I guess I'll take it.

Until next time, enjoy the Texas and/or Missouri outdoors

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