ow about the spinnerbait?"
Brad Feeken of Gretna
asked as we fished from
a john boat on a small
pond in Cass County.
"Buzzbait," I responded.
"Buzzbait?"
"That's the name of that lure," I said.
"A spinnerbait is a little bit different."
These are the types of conversations
that I have with my newest fishing
partner, 41-year-old Brad Feeken,
during our times on the water during
the spring and summer – times that
he would have never imagined having
even a few years ago.
Sit Still? No Way
While growing up in Hastings,
fishing was the last thing on Feeken's
mind. "I hated the waiting," he told me
on one of our first trips together. "Dad
would hand me a pole with a bobber
and I'd cast out." Then it became
agony to a kid unwilling, or unable,
to stay still waiting for that bobber to
disappear.
So when I explained to him that
largemouth bass fishing was very
little, if any, sitting and waiting, he
dipped his toes back in the water. And
on our first trip together, as bass after
bass attacked our topwater offerings,
he tilted his head toward the heavens
above: "Dad! Why did you make me
fish with a bobber?!" He laughed, then
made another of what turned out to be
hundreds of casts that day.
These casts are perfect for his
Story and photos by Jeff Kurrus
Introducing Adults to Fishing
"H
Buzzbaits (top) are
traditionally fished on top
and their blade makes a lot of
commotion, while spinnerbaits
(bottom) are usually fished beneath
the surface.
54 NEBRASKAland • JULY 2017
