Why I gave away my boat

 By Bill Prater

Usually when a fisherman starts a conversation with, “Truth be told…” everyone nearby knows to groan and grow wary. He or she is either about to lie about fish or fishing spot, or feeling guilty over what they lied about. In my case, though, truth be told, I gave away my perfectly usable boat because I really didn’t care to fish from it anymore. And I really didn’t want to sell it. 

Let me explain.

My brother Paulie (the Reverend Paul to everyone else) found that boat for me at a bargain price 25 years ago, beginning to rust away in the back of a sales lot in Central Illinois. For the next quarter century that 18 ½-foot bass boat took over an entire bay of the Prater garage. But it also started up with a roar nearly every time she was on the water, and reliably took us where we wanted to go. During all those years, a healthy chunk of my favorite fishing time was spent with that annoying older brother of mine. My elder by just 10 ½ months (Dad called me his “six-week checkup baby”), Paulie pestered  me relentlessly as older brothers will. But he also taught me all sorts of useful things -- including how and when it’s okay for even a Methodist minister’s kid brother to lie about fishing. And after he passed away two years ago, I gradually realized I hadn’t sat in that boat ever again.

Aw, truthfully, the situation wasn’t that melodramatic. Stuff like crowded docks, Covid, paddleboarders, wake boats and evolving fishing preferences all figured into the equation. But whatever the motivation, I learned this about myself: I really didn’t want to sell that old boat. Didn’t seem right. So rather than glance her way with regret every time I got in and out of the truck, last fall I just donated that old Bass Tracker to the “Make A Wish” Foundation. Hopefully it’s funded a kid’s trip to Disney World, or fishing trip with Kevin VanDam.

Also, truth be told, these days I get more satisfaction and fish with my aging but still seaworthy float tube and increasingly tiny baits and gear. And now, over the next few months, I plan to share what I and a few enlightened Loveland Fishing Club fishing buddies are learning about the still-evolving sport of multi-species, micro finesse fishing. Between now and open water season, I plan to share a few of those tactics with a truthiness astonishing from an old, old northern Colorado angler.

Paulie in the back of the boat. Below, mine's bigger.