Several years ago Elroy Colledge of Provo was fishing with his granddaughter in Utah Lake and she pulled a 15 pound catfish out of the shallow water. 

Ever since she has teased grandpa about catching the "big one".  Not any more.

It's not the state record, but it's a big one.  After a 30 minute struggle Colledge yanked a 28.1 pound "cat" from the lake.  It was 38 inches long and 28 inches around.  Now that's a big fish!

It was just a little "blurb" on the Associated Press wire this afternoon.  I thought the most interesting part was that Colledge was using a chicken heart as bait.  It's not unusual, but it caught my eye.  It's not often you see the words chicken heart in a news story.

It also caught my eye because it reminded me of my grandfather and our times in a boat on a lake in northern Wisconsin waiting for the fish to bite.  Fishing was a passion for him.  He loved to catch the bluegills and perch from the dock with the nightcrawlers he caught the night before.  He liked to sit for hours on the lake trolling for northern pike, but he also like to cover himself in mosquito netting and trudge into some trout stream to "wet a fly".

So, when I read about the big catfish in Utah Lake and the grandfather who now has a bigger fish on the books than his granddaughter, I thought about my grandpa. 

He taught me how to clean a fish while it was still alive.  He taught me how to keep warm on the lake before the sun came up.  He taught me to love the outdoors. 

I know Elroy Colledge is proud of his fish.  I suspect he is just as proud of his granddaughter.  Take a picture of the catfish and fry it up, and hug your grandkids.  They will remember.