The Lure of Fishing

For some residents, setting out at 4:30 in the morning is common practice. That’s because with so many fish to catch and the lure of blue skies and blue water, sleeping in is simply a waste of time.

Three Lamar High School friends use any weekend or day off from school to squeeze in as much fishing as they can. “It’s unexplainable,” says Joey Berwick when first asked what he loves about the sport. After some thought, Joey could put his finger on it: “The thrill of knowing you have fish on the other end of the line and just being outdoors.”

Joey’s passion for fishing includes both salt and freshwater. Whether he fishes for bass at his family’s ranch in Nacogdoches or goes out to sea, he can’t get enough. Joey’s closest friendships come from fishing, and parents Paula and Joe couldn’t be more pleased. “Fishing gives Joey and his friends a passion, and when you have to be up at the crack of dawn to go fish, you aren’t interested in partying until the wee hours of the morning,” Joe reasons.

Some years ago, Joey’s friend, Brooks Kelm, introduced him to deep-sea fishing.

Brooks Kelm, winner of the CCA Texas STAR Tournament last year, feels that he's one with nature when fishing. (Photo: www.solarisstudios.com)

Brooks started fishing very young after a babysitter took him to Hermann Park to catch rainbow trout. (Her secret bait: bran flakes mixed with Big Red soda.) By the seventh grade, he was out on a boat every weekend. This summer Brooks is working offshore with a sports fishing guide taking clients on excursions—a dream job for someone who is happiest when surrounded by smelly bait.

Before this, he had worked at Academy Sports & Outdoors in their fishing department, where he soon established himself as a fishing expert. “I’ve developed friendships with so many customers and get asked to go fishing with them all the time. One customer introduced me to the tournament circuit. A great thing about fishing is it doesn’t matter what age you are—you can go out with people older than you, and you will have so much in common,” he says.

“Every time I go out fishing, I learn something new, even about life,” says Brooks. Last summer, he entered the CCA Texas STAR Tournament, open from Memorial to Labor Day to all kids and strictly for recreational anglers. Brooks was determined to win the Trout Division for the upper coast region. To be considered, a fish has to weigh in at least 6 pounds, which Brooks explains is “something that’s very hard to find in the summer, as trout don’t carry young until the fall.” For about 40 days Brooks went out, determined to catch that fish. He did, and his catch weighed in at 7 pounds, 1 ounce! At the end of the tournament, and after Brooks had taken a polygraph test proving that there was no cheating involved, he was announced the first-place winner—taking the $20,000 scholarship prize.

Another Lamar friend, David Bracht, is so enamored with fishing that he plans to limit his college choices to those by the coast. “Fishing is just in my blood. It’s exciting. You never know what you are going to catch,” he says. Recently, while fishing on the Brazos River, he caught an alligator!

David and his mom, Barbara, also enjoy fishing together. As a girl, Barbara recalls fishing with her dad—just a pole, a hook, and a worm—on the Quiver River in St. Louis.

Charlene Kern holds up one of her catches.

For the past 20 years, the Brachts have owned a place at April Sound on Lake Conroe. “I knew enough about it to get it started, but know he’s the expert,” says Barbara.

Fishing is one of those sports anyone, no matter the skill or age, can enjoy doing together. West U residents since 1969, Ken and Charlene Kern discovered that fishing was a great way to spent time with their two daughters, Christy Kern and Charlotte Stowe. Today, their children may be all grown, but they still enjoy fishing with their mom and dad. The Kerns’ daughters remain close to their parents in more ways than one, living only a few blocks away.

“We say saltwater is in our blood,” Ken jokes. Frequenting their home in Galveston and fishing in a saltwater lake in Hackberry, Louisiana, keeps their blood salty. “I was raised in Corpus Christi and remember going down to the beach to catch crabs in my bucket for dinner,” Charlene says.

Raised in Houston, Ken recalls fishing with his dad as early as 5. A date that sticks out in Charlene’s mind before she and Ken married 38 years ago was one where they went crabbing near Kemah. Now, Ken and Charlotte cherish memories on their boat with their kids and grandchildren.

You’re never too young or too old to go fishing. Whether you’re casting your line for the first or hundredth time, fishing has a way of getting you hooked.