Daily Archives: March 2, 2015

 

I’m a proud grandfather of 6 great grandchildren, and I love them all, but one is unique, special, and one dang good fisherman!  Benjamin Luke Fortney is my oldest grandson, son of Scott and Diane Fortney, Scott is my oldest son.  I love Hannah, my oldest grand daughter, but her story comes later!  Today I want to share about Ben!

 

It probably all started when many years ago the Florida Fortney’s visited us in Kentucky and Scott took Ben fishing at a local stream, the image below says it all, from that day on Ben was a fisherman!

 

Ben has gone on to learn a great deal about fishing and living in North Florida he has the perfect playground to practice his craft.  Ben is a bait fisherman, bait caster, fly fisherman (ties his own beautiful flies!), bass fisherman, fishes with plugs, spinners, worms, and is an avid shore fisherman.  He has landed single fish that their weight exceeds my life time accumulative weight of fish caught!!!

 

Ben’s list of fish varieties that he has studied and caught is just about the contents of  any good fish book out there.

 

His next big category is a hammerhead shark.  You must catch and release them, and I know he will, but his goal is at least a 10 footer.  No doubt I’ll get a iPhone image soon showing that catch!

 

His room is decorated with a bewildering assortment of rods, reels and fishing lures and he proudly displays some of his great great grandfathers classic wooden plugs and some of the fish his great great grandfather and  great grandfather caught and had mounted.

 

      Ben is shown to the left holding his latest reel acquisition, a deep sea rod and reel made just of the    big fish he is going after this spring.  Ben is a great young man, a good student and real man of his word.   I’m proud to call him my grandson, and I sure wish he would teach me to fish!!!!

 

Being a grandfather is an awesome treasure and great responsibility!  I try to spend as much time as        I can with my grand children and pass on some of the life lessons I’ve learned over the past half                century plus 19 years.  Fortunately for me my grandchildren still listen and I truly enjoy their company!  Now if Ben could just help me catch a 12 pound bass!!!  

 

I’m blessed,

 

the pilgrim

 

 

 

I apologize for the image quality, all iPhone 4s  wish I had used my Fuji X100T!!!