Sports Editor

Not

everybody can be a fisherman. Some people can't get past

the baiting of the hook, while others find the routine

and long spurts of inactivity boring.

For those

who love fishing, nothing could drive them away. They

enjoy the rush that comes from catching a fish. That is

why Kevin Brandewie and David Ellis fish as much as they

do and why they have been so successful.

Brandewie

and Ellis, two rising seventh graders at J.C. Booth

Middle School, caught a behemoth of a monster of a grass

carp while they were fishing recently. The ordeal was

such a challenge for the boys and so strange, the story

had to be told.

Over the

Memorial Day weekend, the pair fished each day from 9

a.m. to 5 p.m. at Lake Peachtree in Peachtree City. The

boys took out Brandewie's canoe, as they usually do, and

went fishing for bass. Brandewie caught five bass while

Ellis caught two. Their thoughts left catching bass

behind Monday, though, when they saw a very big grass

carp jump out of the water and make a splash.

"It

was kind of scary," said Kevin. "We weren't

really looking and I flinched and fell in the

water." It was then that the boys went after it.

"I've never seen a bigger fish," said David.

"At least not in this lake."

The bait

they used was a blueberry bagel. They used a bagel

because the bread was falling off too easily and all the

smaller fish were getting to it first. The blueberry

bagel hung on and Brandewie ended up nabbing the fish.

But the

creature was far from captured, and eventually it snapped

Brandewie's 20-pound line.

The boys

tried again, refusing to give up on the wily monster.

Brandewie hooked a grass carp again, but it was not the

same one. They knew that because it did not have his

previous hook in its mouth. After he had the new carp on

the line, Brandewie and Ellis began to take the boat

closer to shore, trying to tire the fish out. Ellis

jumped out of the boat and waded toward the fish, but

every time he reached out to grab it, it would jet off.

On the

third try, Ellis got a good hold on the fish and the boys

tied it to the back of the canoe and took it ashore. As

they carried it, one of its scales fell off. There was a

big crowd gathered on the shore of the lake, all

interested in the boys' catch that day.

The fish

was a 32-inch-long grass carp, weighing 15 pounds. The

city put grass carp in the lake a number of years ago to

eat the algae. The breed's population has most certainly

gone up, but the boys say they have only seen the grass

carp in one section of the lake. They won't disclose the

location because a good fisherman keeps his secrets.

A good

fisherman also never keeps the fish, always releasing it

back to its home. The boys catch fish to marvel at their

natural beauty, to take the challenge and to succeed.

Brandewie

and Ellis have been fishing for years. Both boys have had

training in the Boy Scouts, which undoubtedly helped them

catch the fish.

If they had

to do it all over again, the boys would do nothing

different. Ellis needs a stronger line, though, and

Brandewie needs a new pole. If you're out on Lake

Peachtree this summer, you'll probably see these young

men. They will be reveling in the summer weather and the

simplicity and perfection of a day of fishing.

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