The Milwaukee Post

I remember when I was a kid, a few of my buddies and I would walk a couple of miles from my house in Waukesha to fish for chubs and shiners in Pebble Creek off Highway TT (we found the bigger chubs in a deeper pool off the beaten path). The walk was just far enough to feel like we were on an adventure for sixth- graders and close enough that the folks felt comfortable letting us go. My son, Hunter, 15, had his last day as a freshman at Slinger High School last week, and wanted to do some fishing after the last final had been taken. He asked if some of his buddies could tag along — fortunately for me, he still likes to have me along on fishing trips even if sometimes it's because of my bottomless tackle box. Joining us were Trevor Ulesich, Jared Bernarde, and Jack Olin — all teammates of his from baseball and football. It was a rare occasion for these young men to be out on a boat together and instead of on a bank of a river or pond. You see, the last few weeks these guys have been on a fishing mission. They're getting old enough now to drop off on a river and let them figure things out without super- vision. What baits to use? How much current should they be fishing in? What tasted good and what tasted not so good? Last week, they were fishing for catfish and caught three nice ones. They wanted to fillet and fry the fish themselves and called upon YouTube to be their guide. The fillets weren't picture-perfect cuts, but everyone knows that when something is breaded in seasoned flower and cor nmeal, and flash fried, the eats are pretty good. The day after the cat trip the boys went out again and I received a text. "We have five," Hunter wrote. "Gonna bring them over to Ben's house to cook them up." Good deal, I told him. A few hours later, when leaving the river, I got another text, this time with an image attached of their catch. I had expected a cat- fish-replay like the day before. But, I was wrong. The picture on my iPhone was that of carp. Just carp. Ugly, creepy, carp. I told Hunter that carp were no good to eat, but he insisted they give it a go. They for med an assembly line and carved out small nuggets of meat, fried them up, and swore that they weren't too bad. I told myself that the first time I tried to drink coconut water, too, but never did have it again. Who would have thunk it? But then I thought about it a little. Why not let these boys learn for themselves? Why not let them decide what is edible and what isn't? The kids taught me some- thing that day. They taught me not to put the brakes on some- thing just because I don't sub- scribe to it, as long as they're not hurting anyone. What's the harm in eating some carp? But this day was about bass — both the rock and largemouth kind. The boys know I release everything, but begged me to let them keep what they caught. Reluctantly, I let them keep one bass apiece, and it had to be in the 14-to-15 inch range (no hawgs). The spawn was over, and the bag limit allowed for far more than one apiece, so even though I'm a bass tournament advocate, I gave them a pardon for this one day. Everyone got in on the action, including some rock bass that I told them could be kept in larger volumes. I let go a little that day. If they wanted to use a bait that I knew didn't work as well as others, who cares? I didn't put a noose on their creativity or their need to throw a bait that just "looked cool" even if the yield might not be stellar. It was one of the greater days in my fishing life. I was thinking to myself that these guys were 15, and us par- ents had only this year, before releasing them to fish on their own. The times have changed since I was a 12-year-old on a quest to Pebble Creek. You just can't trust the world the way you used to. Hunter might not need me as much next year when he and his buddies turn 16 and they don't need a driver. But, I'll worry about that next year. This year, I still have a fishing buddy who wants me along. (Dan Durbin writes an outdoors column for the Post. Call Durbin at 644-7940, or email him at ddurbin@bastdurbin.com if you have a story idea.) End-of-school fishing trip brings bass, carp and more DAN DURBIN Plenty of lessons learned on water Winner winner, chicken dinner. LeBron James finally did it. He put a whooping on the greatness of Michael Jordan. It didn't seem possible that James could ever match Jordan in any way. Jordan is the greatest player ever and has a 6-0 record in the NBA Finals. It wouldn't matter if Jordan was 12-0 and averaged 100 points per game. He only won games, titles and awards. LeBron James just won a city. Nothing Jordan ever did in one season is close to equaling what James accom- plished this past season. It's not real life. It's a movie script, which is only made because reality is so tough. Jordan really got whipped by LeBron James. Cleveland is a city with 52 years of fail- ure, and horrific failure with some of the losses by the Browns and the Indians. It was at 50 years when LeBron decided to come back to the area where he grew up. A local coming back to save not just the team, but his city. Jordan never came close to touching that level of greatness; he couldn't. He wasn't from Chicago, and the city had already won some profession- al titles. In addition to being the first profes- sional athlete to "win" a city with his title, James also performed in a manner that was Jordan-like on the floor. He led all players in the Finals in points, rebounds, assists, blocks, and steals. He was the first player to do it in any NBA playoff series. I witnessed such numbers in Dwyane Wade's first season at Marquette. It's one thing for a future Hall of Famer to domi- nate in all areas on a college team. It's not possible — or wasn't possible — for an NBA player to do so with so many other great players during a playoff series. The statistics might mean that James played as well as Jordan ever did in one playoff series, but it doesn't matter. James or any player doesn't ever need basketball stuff when he wins a city. In addition, it's not as if the champi- onship was the result of a bad opponent. All James did was lead a Finals victory over the team with the best regular-season record in the history of the NBA. James and the Cavaliers also became the first team to come back from a three-games-to- one deficit in the finals. It's really too good to be true, especial- ly for a player who was a traitor six years ago when he left home for a better shot at a title. And in coming back, it only took him two years to win the title. In addition to Jordan never coming close to such greatness in one season, it must be added that LeBron James will NEVER do anything as special and amaz- ing as his championship this season; it can't happen. James can lead Cleveland to four straight titles and best the three in a row by Jordan. It doesn't matter. It still won't be as amazing and special as this season. It's the reason I would have no problem with LeBron leaving Cleveland now to play for another team, such as the New York Knicks. His work in Cleveland is done. He said he'd win a title, and he did. He'll probably stay and might win another championship or two. It's all for second best. Bringing HIS town back from the dead after over a half- century of failure can't be beaten. June 24, 2016 • Milwaukee County Post • 11 "HOMER" on SPORTS STEVE "The HOMER" TRUE (Steve "The Homer" True, host of "Homer and Gabe Show," heard from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays on 540 ESPN, can be reached at homer@espnmilwaukee.com.) James didn't just win Finals, he won Cleveland Not much greater than LeBron's championship SPORTS Submitted photo From left, Jared Bernarde, Jack Olin, Hunter Durbin and Trevor Ulesich fry up some fish after a good day fishing on the water.

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