A scout is always prepared

As a Scout activity a couple of years ago Jacob went to the Rec Center pond to work on his fishing merit badge. There isn't much to catch in the pond, but Jacob's leader Fred Brown told him that catfish will bite anything that stinks. Following the Scout Motto Jacob wanted to be prepared with something for the catfish to bite. He took a hot dog from the fridge added a little water and let it sit out in the sun and heat for a couple of days. Yes, it did stink and yes, the catfish did bite. Jacob caught a nice sized catfish, but just didn't have the heart to eat him. He had a better idea! He asked his leader if he could bring the catfish home and put him in his fish tank. Had I been there, I would have said, "heck, NO!" Instead Jacob returned home with his stinky hot dog bag filled with pond water and a nice sized catfish. I didn't think the catfish would survive more that a week.

Jacob and Michael kept the catfish for almost two years. Any new fish that were added to the tank were immediately eaten by the catfish. The only other fish to survive was the algae eater. I think they became friends actually and spent lots of time together under the rock in the tank.

On April 25th Jacob decided it was time to set the catfish free. Jacob loaded the fellar up into another ziplock bag and we returned him to the pond. Brooke went along and seemed quite distraught as Jacob released the cafish into the pond. You can see her dismay in the last picture of the slideshow.

Always remember to be prepared. You never know what your scout might bring home.