Holidays all have a special meaning.

They represent times where we celebrate and reflect on certain things. For me, three holidays have double meanings.

My daughter Jourdan was born on Mother’s Day, son Greg on Memorial Day, and son Brian on Father’s Day.

Last Sunday, family members celebrated at my son Brian’s and his girlfriend Barb’s house. The boys didn’t go wrong getting me gift cards at Dick’s Sporting Goods. My gift to Brian was something that will have a special meaning every time he uses it.

A year ago, Brian and I were fishing a local pit. He accidentally knocked a prized spinning outfit into the lake over 23 feet of water. Three days later, I returned with a weighted treble hook and was extremely lucky when I hooked the second eye of the rod. I gave that outfit and a tackle box full of Sliders to Brian for his birthday.

I baked a wild raspberry pie for the Sunday dinner and there are a lot more where those came from. The day after, I picked my last strawberry from the garden, I began picking wild raspberries. The rain has made them plump and delicious. The hot weather has them ripening very quickly. Now is the time to search wood edges, power line tower bases and fencerows for this delectable treat. Blackberries are soon to follow.

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The following is a report from Darrell Pettigrew, the angler who caught the 8’14” bass at Morse Reservoir this spring:

“This past Saturday, the wind was blowing from the west and my dock is on the east side, so the chop was really on. We put the chairs on the dock and set up shop with minnows and night crawlers.

“The fish were biting so good between the two of us we couldn't use four poles. Three was the max. One night crawler on the bottom, one half night crawler on a bobber set at 4 feet deep and one minnow on a bobber also set at 4 feet deep.

“I lost count on the fish. I was surprised to still be catching big crappie. My area is only good for spawning fish. Some of the crappie were in the 10- to 14-inch range. We also caught 10 channel catfish or so in the three- to 10-pound range and had our line broken a couple of times.

“I have a floating fish basket tied to the dock and it was full. After about four hours of fishing they just turned off. I ran up to the house and got my cleaning knife and board. We were going to have a big mess of fish. I pulled that basket up and the fish were all gone but one. There was a 5-inch hole on the side. The 10-pound catfish was the only one that didn't get out.”

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Six area anglers took celebrating Father’s Day into their own hands when they traveled four hours to Lake Erie for some walleye fishing. Bob May, Don Zalokar, Dave Wintrode, John Starkey, Brian Miles and Mark McWalker caught their limit of fish on a nine-hour charter.

The anglers were fishing with Fishin’ Again Charters, 419-569-1443. The charter fee for the six men was $480. The charter captain promised good perch and walleye fishing come September.