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More than 30 years after a Poland Middle School student penned a letter describing his great interest in fishing, we finally made good on a suggestion about getting out on the lake together.
Kevin Schaffert's heartfelt letter to me struck a nerve. That a seventh grader would take the time to so earnestly express his love for fishing made a big impression. I replied with encouragement for his fishing. Kevin, his father, Eric, and I soon bumped into each other in town.
A youngster as smitten by fishing as Kevin deserved an invitation to hit the lake. But as often happens, lots of obstacles like jobs and sports and life in general got in the way. Years passed, and I'd forgotten about the young man who took time to write me a letter.
Then Eric and I bumped into each other again. Our encounter jogged my memory that Kevin was such a fishing fanatic. "Let's get out on the lake someday," I texted to Eric. Less than five minutes later, Eric texted back, "We're in!"
And so it was. Now 45 years old and the head tennis professional at Mayfield Village Racquet Club, Kevin still makes time to get on the water. He is especially interested in largemouth and smallmouth bass fishing - right in my wheelhouse, too. He and his father enjoy days together on Mosquito, West Branch, Shenango, Erie and Chautauqua.
"I love skipping a fluke under the docks at Chautauqua," he said as we worked the lake Thursday in search of largemouths under a bluebird sky. We were buffeted by a 15 mph north wind and a rising barometer that seemed to give the bass a high-pressure headache and a serious case of lockjaw.
Eric scored first as a spunky buck bass snapped at his shallow-running crankbait. We picked off a few more bass and some brave crappies willing to attack bass lures, but the relatively meager results were offset by the interesting exchange of our on-the-water experiences over the past three decades.
Kevin was a star tennis player at Poland Seminary High School. After graduating in 2000 in the same class as my daughter, Betsy, Kevin went on to a successful career with the Youngstown State University Penguins tennis team. NCAA Division I tennis is highly competitive, he said, noting that a highlight was getting within one break of upsetting Ohio State in a men's doubles match.
Now married and living in Lyndhurst, he is busy with big responsibilities at Mayfield Village Racquet Club. But fishing is never far from front and center.
The eager teen I met in 1994, a fellow who soaked up all the knowledge he could gain from magazines, TV shows and newspaper columns, today is an encyclopedia of old-school fishing and today's high-tech equipment and associated tactics. He cites learnings from the trailblazing Bassmaster professionals and describes the influences that guided him to memorable catches.
I have been fortunate to have shared a boat with a lot of people over the years. The best days, interestingly, aren't necessarily those when we put lots of fish in the boat. The best days are those when enthusiasm bubbles over and everyone learns something.
That describes our day last week. Kevin and Eric are among the "fishingest" father-and-son duos I've ever met. Enthusiasm overflowed even when the bass proved to be fussy.
The chatter among the three of us was fun. It was clear that when Kevin and Eric are fishing, all is well in their worlds.
That's the good thing about fishing. Even when we aren't serving aces, we can still go home with a win.
Jack Wollitz writes weekly for readers of the Vindicator and Tribune Chronicle. Contact him at jackbbaass@gmail.com.