My Fishing Trip

My Fishing Trip

By Bill Richer

On a blue sunny Sunday day,
Troubled was my heart in every way.
For I could not laugh or sing,
And depression made its horrific sting.
Dragging myself to my fishing hole,
I took a coke, bait and fishing pole.
I gazed at my line with a gloomy stare.
Hoping for a bite to illuminate the air.
In a half hours time, I missed two.
For goodness sakes, can I not catch a few?
Casting out again with hope against all hope,
I talked with my guardian angel to cope.
I asked him if he was even there.
Asked for a sign to show his care.
My line went straight out after my request.
I started reeling in and doing my best.
When my catch was coming to shore,
I pulled out the fish and even one more.
On the hook, one was there dangling,
While the other wrapped with line was hanging.
There was unbelief in my eyes at the sight.
Yet, I knew now my angel must have been in flight.
I know it is nothing I shall see in time soon,
For miracles only happen once in a blue moon.
After this catch I caught twelve more.
There were fourteen fish and a happy man ashore.
With lifted spirit, I drove home.
Accompanied with an angel on my roam.

Below is a graphic of exactly how it looked after I caught the fish. I have been fishing many times but have never seen or heard of anything like this in my life.

Exactly What Happened
on Pentecost Sunday, June 8, 2003

On June 8, 2003, I went fishing for a third time that year in a same place by the river by myself and I caught 14 more good size bullhead during the day. Yet, I have a little story that happened to me that day that you may like to hear. I love fishing and I go because it helps me with my depression and with my disability and job situation and everything else. At the time I had been feeling like God had abandoned me and I was really down. So, while fishing I talked to my guardian angel inside of myself. I asked him if he was even there. The reason being is I went fishing to catch fish and I just missed two fish three feet from shore in the first half hour. So, I recast my line out and said to my angel again, "If you are there please give me a sign." Suddenly my line went straight out on my pole and as the river is not very wide in this area I could see where the end of my line was and it seemed to me I saw two fish surface in the area that I had the bite. Yet, I said to myself, I must be seeing things because I only have one hook. So, when I reeled it in I had two bullhead on one line with one hook. One of the bullhead was on the hook while the other bullhead further up the line had the line wrapped around him two or three times. This wrapping was done with such force that the edges of the mouth slivered and the wrapped line was held in place by those slivered edges. This wrapped line kept the mouth completely shut of that bullhead and yet when I went to unwrap the line it wasn’t much trouble pulling out. I believe my prayer was answered. The sizes of the bullhead I caught that day were:

Number Caught	Length

1	10 1/2"
1	10 3/4"
2	11"
3	11 1/4"
2	11 1/2"
2	11 3/4"
3	12 1/2"

Actual Fishing Spot