Finding Dad's Big Halibut Catch With Mom & Mr. Lee

Yesterday when I blogged about The CATCH For Linda Lou's Seafood In Wichita Falls I made mention of the fact my dad once caught a really big halibut, and that I would see if I could find photo documentation of that big catch. Which I proceeded to do. Which is what you see above. 

I do not remember what newspaper the above article was in. Most likely the Bellingham Herald or Lynden Tribune. Or, maybe, the Skagit Valley Herald.

Whatever newspaper, the article has an error or two. It has my dad being from Mount Vernon.

No.

Mom and dad were living in Burlington when that big fish was caught, and had been in that Skagit town for years.

The article has my dad being a former Lynden resident. I don't think dad ever lived in Lynden. Nooksack and Sumas would be more accurate. Dad was a Nooksack High School basketball star, which is how he first came to mom's attention, as she cheered for her Lynden High School basketball team playing Nooksack.

Eventually my dad's mom moved to Lynden, one block from my mom's mom. Making it easy to go from one grandma to the other whilst visiting Lynden.

The article mentions my dad catching the halibut with a 35 year old pole made by the late Cornie Slotemaker of Lynden.

Cornie was my dad's dad. Also known as my grandpa. He died before I was born. It is only in this article I have seen my grandpa called Cornie. His name was Cornelius. This was supposed to be my name. The family convention, going back to generations in Holland, was the eldest son of the eldest son rotated the name John (Jan in Dutch) and Cornelius. 

But mom and dad were totally Americanized by the time I was born and so rebelled at naming their eldest son Cornelius. And then I further disrupted the family convention by refusing to reproduce, and thus having no son to name John. As a further example of my mom and dad's rebelliousness, they named their second born son John. It's a wonder we were not ostracized from the greater Jones clan.

This article also has Cornie living in Lynden. Maybe he did. But I don't think so. Grandpa Cornie's mom, my great grandma Tillie, did live in Lynden, when I knew her.

Standing with my mom and dad and the halibut is the pseudo grandpa I knew as Mr. Lee. As in Lee Huntley, my mom's mom's third husband. I liked Mr. Lee. For my little sister, Michele, Mr. Lee was the only grandpa she ever knew. 

And since we have been talking about my grandpa Cornie, I found a photo of him with a big fish too.

That is a sturgeon, caught in the Nooksack River. Grandpa Cornie was a super fisherman. He passed on his fishing skills to my dad. And then the fishing skills skipped a generation til my Favorite Nephew Joey inherited it.

I believe Joey also now has that fishing pole his great grandpa Cornie made a long long time ago. 

I suspect Joey will be passing the fishing skills thing on to Hank Frank. The process may already have begun...

Spencer Jack's Uncle Joey Has Some Big Fish To Fry With His Grandpa & Great-Grandpa

A few minutes ago I did my daily checking in on that fad whose time to fade is past its due date, Facebook, to see that Spencer Jack's favorite Uncle, Joey, had caught a big halibut.

Catching big fish in Washington waters of various sorts, as in rivers and saltwater, apparently is hardwired into the Jones' genes. However, I did not catch this trait, as I've never much enjoyed fishing. Being out on Puget Sound in a boat, yes, that I like, but not fishing.

In the fish collage above you have 3 generations holding a big fish. On the left is my Grandpa, Spencer Jack's Great-Great Grandpa, Cornelius, known as Neil and Cornie. In the middle is Spencer Jack's Great-Grandpa, my Dad, Jack. And on the right is Spencer Jack's Uncle, my Nephew Joey.

My Grandpa is holding a big sturgeon he caught in the Nooksack River. The Nooksack is the first river you come to in Western Washington when you head south from the Canadian border.

My Dad is holding a 187 pound, over 6 foot long, halibut, caught using his Dad's, my Grandpa's, 35 year old pole. I remember that pole. It was big. I wonder if it still exists? If it does, Joey should have it.

Joey is also holding a halibut. Joey's halibut does not appear to be 6 feet long, and since Joey is holding the halibut with one hand I suspect it does not weigh anywhere near the monster his Grandpa caught.

Below is the newspaper clipping, with the story of my Dad catching the halibut, with the help of my Mom  and my Grandma's husband, who I knew as Mr. Lee and my baby sister knew as Grandpa Lee.

103 In The Middle Of The Afternoon On The First Day Of August In Texas

As you can see, we have hit 103, as predicted, well, actually, the latest prediction for today is it will hit 104.

And the dreaded HEAT INDEX is back, making it feel like 106. Yes, those 2 degrees make a huge difference.

Adding to the HEAT the National Weather Service has issued one of those pollution alerts, of the Level Orange sort. The elderly, like me, are supposed to avoid exertion where you might find yourself breathing too much of the polluted air.

That snoopy Betty Jo Bouvier used her Wild Woolley Eyes to see what book I was reading that I said I was embarrassed to admit to. How rude.

I got halibut yesterday at Town Talk. Moving to Texas really caused a big hit to my seafood consumption. I used to be able to drive about 10 miles and put out a crab pot and get me some fresh dungeness crab. Or if the tide was low, dig me some clams.

I do not recollect when last I had halibut. Back when my mom and dad lived in Washington my dad caught a halibut in the San Juan Islands zone of Puget Sound that weighed over 180 pounds. My dad fought the fish for about an hour before a guy in another boat assisted with the capture. I've got a picture of my dad and that halibut somewhere. I believe it was in the local newspaper.

I've heard of catfish getting caught in Texas lakes that are quite heavy. But, if you've ever had fresh halibut, cod or salmon and then taste catfish for the first time, well, it is really shocking that anyone finds catfish edible, particularly the muddy-flavored variety. What does a catfish eater think the first time they taste real seafood? It's perplexing.

Below is the Fort Worth Forecast for the next 7 days. It's HOT!