Here’s the latest from James Holst on the bite on Pool 4 of the Mississippi River. The water’s come up and the bite has changed up a bit but good fish keep coming to the boat.
Here’s the link –> Pool 4 Report – June 10
Good fishin’,
EFN Webstaff
thats one BIG UGLY sheeper all right!.. any idea how long or how many #’S?
Hey James
now that is one sheephead that I would mount!!!!!!!
WOW now thats a beautiful fish.
what did she weigh
Gross! I bet stillakid2 could feed on that thing for an entire year! 
Nice eye caught by Grandpa Holst!
Way to go James! Thats why I love to fish with James, you just never know whats going to bite the end of your line. Last time we were out it was Flatheads on Ringworms! 
That sheepie was the largest I’d ever seen… and I’ve weighed some mid to upper teen stuff. Bigger than that and much longer than my 30″ bump board. So no measurement and no weight. Just a whole net-full ‘o ugly! Man can those things fight!!
About that 29″ walleye…. that’s my grandfather, Harold Holst…. original from Lake City, MN…. later moved to Austin where I grew up. He’s the guy that instilled in me the love of the water and fishing. He got me started on trout way back and the walleye thing pretty much grew out of that.
I can remember he teaching me how to read water…. how to leave only foot prints. How to respect the environment and the fish for the true gift from our creator that they really are…. and that many take for granted. How to just hold still and be silent in the presence of it all and to just soak in all the little things that most overlook. All those things that take the experience well past the physical act of catching fish. And I love him for it. And I tell him so and what his gift of the love of fishing has meant to me and my life. I also tell him I’ll keep his tradition and values alive through my children and I can see in his face that it means the world to him… although he tries not to show too much emotion.
So last week when my 85 year old grandfather told me quietly with a wink and a grin as his friends walked towards the boat ahead of us….”I’m running out of time for that big walleye”…… I was saddened at the thought that someday…. maybe someday soon…. I’d be without my fishing mentor. And I thought about that during the entire run down to our first stop. About how time is fleeting and that friends and family or so important given our limited time together on this earth. And I was saddened by the thought that I’d be left behind without the people I’ve learned so much from and have spent some much enjoyable time with on the water.
And then the first walleye of the day, my grandfather’s largest ever… played its part in reminding me that memories are forever and that our fishing buddies never leave us. I was over whelmed by the moment given the thoughts running through my head only minutes earlier. Without a doubt one of my most gratifying moments on the water as a “fishing guide” and a moment that will forever be fused in my mind.
Thanks gramps! Thanks for everything…..
Wow, great post James…wipe, wipe, choke, swallow……
Jon J.
I got goosebumps friend. Im glad you got him in position to get a good one.
My Grandfather died much younger (He was 69, I was 16)and I never got the chance to get in the boat with him. He used to drag me through the trout streams and taught me alot about fly larvae and the trout’s diet. He would lift up the rocks and show me what stone fly larve looked like. I remember watching him tie flies. His name was Milo Pohl and I think about him alot when Im on the water.
and my grandfather taught me all about fishing for the wily carp!.. *sigh*… you northcountry guys have all the luck!! so I had to move north!…. but I still have my grandpas secret doughball recipe…. so I got that going for me!!
I really appreciate that post James. Call it rite of passage or whatever. I still remember my Grandpa teaching me how to throw the old direct drive,”knuckle buster” baitcaster. When I was 6 I caught my first Bass on a red/white wooden Bass Oreno. I was fishing out of a leaky rowboat tied to the dock. When you are six years old life doesn’t get any better. I never forgot his kindness and try to pass it on whenever I can. You have done GrandPa Holst proud James. 
Great post James. My grandfather is in a nursing home. And I have a awesome mental picture of our last trip together. While I was pulling the boat out, he stood on shore, watching the evenings last rays of sun and last flight of of ducks, he realized it was his last day on the water. He not fishes through me and my cousins.
Hang on to those memories.
Tuck
Cool story James.
I’m sure Gramps will never forget that day and I am sure he watched on throughout the day in awe of what a fishing machine he has made out of you! Funny how life turns its tables on you. One day you are learning for the first time how to cast from a parent or grandparent and before you know it, you are giving back to him a few new tricks! I know if its anything like my grandfather that passed away, he forgot more about fishing than I will ever learn I am afraid!
Thanks for sharing James!
Dang it James, make a guy all blurry eyed at work. Wait, I’m not viewing the internet at work….. LOL Thanks for the reminder, life’s too short to worry about the little stuff.
James: That picture would look nice framed on Grandpa’s wall. I did that for my Dad from a fishing trip we took. He shows it to everyone who enters his house.
James you are literary genious, Its funny that you posted this story at this time in my life my grandpa is on a ventalator in the icu at mayo. The only thing I could think of is this might be the last time I see him more 6,5,4 at holidays no more great hunting and fishing stories that I already know. I am praying he will come out of it. Thanks again for the great post. P.S. Tell John hi from Turtle and Loos
Great post James! My grandpa took his 4 grandsons up north at a young age, none of us had dads present in growing up.
He hooked me on fishing, I’m the only one out of the four that still does any fishing. I thank him every time I’m out fishing. The old saying goes “the apple don’t fall to far from the tree” We see this as our children grow up, they follow us in alot of ways. Some good and some not so good but they will make it. Everyone have a good fathers day!
Lifes to short to fish with dead minnows! Jim
James, my hope is that you have plenty of time left fishing with Grandpa Harold so do it as often as you can. You never know, maybe someone who is as good a fisherman as you can still pick up a pointer or two from him. And better yet, by the time he is 95 he could still boat his personal best!
I’m pretty sure Grandpa Holst and I will have a few more go-rounds with the ‘ole Mississippi River before our time is up. We’ve aleady scheduled our next trip for NEXT June and I usually get him in the boat again in the fall…. summer trips are out as he just can’t take the heat any more.
And I ALWAYS learn something from him every time we fish togther. About life. About fishing. About relationships. He’s a smart ‘ol bird and should have been a story teller by profession. Anyone that has heard him tell a fishing story knows he has an incredible gift that allows him to really draw a person in to the tale. And he begins each story the same way…. “Say, you talk about that….”
Feels good to be able to share stuff like this with a 1000+ member on-line family!!
One of my favorite quotes from gramps when I try to get things too technical when we’re out pulling boards and plugs and I go into hyperdrive spouting details like line lengths, trolling speeds, and dive curves…..
Said with a HUGE smirk and poo-eating grin…. “Hey kid, ever fish worms? Or don’t walleyes eat worms anymore?!”
Just his way of saying slow down and relax. Don’t turn this into work.
Terrific story James! It certainly stirs up alot of memories…13 years ago I suddenly lost my best friend and fishing mentor/partner…my Dad. You’re very right about making the most of your time on this planet of ours…he was only 46. His teaching philosophy was very similar to your grandfather’s. Not a day goes by that I don’t think about him and everything he taught me…not just about fishing, but life in general. I only hope I can have the same impact on my daughter’s life.
>
Actually, I do have one story about fishing with my grandpa…it was an ice fishing trip on the St. Croix about 8-10 years ago. It wasn’t so much the fishing that I remember (though we had a decent sauger and crappie bite)… it was watching an idol, a World War II vet, a “tough guy” show a side of himself that I’ve only seen once…fear. You need to know that he’s from the east coast and out there, they have trouble understanding the concept ice fishing (much less driving out). The look on his face when that first crack of “thunder” came rumbling by… …I’ll never forget it!
James,
That was a wonderful post. I too was introduced to fishing by my grandfather. I remember on piece of wisdom that he passed on to me. When we were young, my grandpa told my cousins and I that on warm sunny days, be sure to take some time to check the docks. Not for what was swimming in the shade under them, but for what was sunning on them!
This bit of wisdom never helped me catch another fish, but it did make for some lasting memories…
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