I love fishing. I have so many good memories that revolve around fishing trips it would literally make your head spin. My BIG brother Julian, aka ‘Giant’, was the first guy to introduce me to it. My dad, Mr. Albert Delean, introduced fishing to Julian. It seems to be one of those pastimes that have stood the test of time through the ages. The Lord Jesus taught his disciples to be ‘fishers of men’. The fact that a bunch of them just so happened to be fishermen by trade was no coincidence. Jesus certainly knew where to locate his ‘talent’.
If there is one particular bait than rises among the rest as far as effectiveness occurs, that is the humble earthworm. The mind ‘reels’ to think (pardon the pun) of how many earthworms have lost their lives over the ages in order to catch a fish. Someone should propose a worldwide’Worm Day’, in memory of all the worms that gave their lives so that people can eat, or just have a good time fishing. Perhaps we can even observe a moment of silence once a year in honor of every ‘night crawler’ that died on a hook.
When Jesus sent the apostles out into the world to make ‘disciples of all nations’, he sent them on a ‘Fishing Trip’ of sorts. For approximately 3 years he trained them in preparation to embark on this holy ‘crusade’. After his resurrection, he told them to go to Jerusalem and stand by for when he would send them the Holy Spirit and clothe them with ‘Power from on high’. Once this occurred, the apostles were equipped with the best ‘Fishing Gear’ money COULD NOT buy. Bob Izumi, eat your heart out.
If we are followers of the Lord Jesus, we get go fishing too. Actually, we are commanded to go fishing. “But I don’t like fishing” you may say. “I don’t like putting the worm on the hook” is another common excuse. Maybe no one has ever taken you fishing in your life, or perhaps you don’t have any gear. No gear? No problem! The Lord will ‘Outfit’ you with everything you could possibly need so you too can ‘hit the water’ and catch your limit. Perhaps you may be in need of a guide? Let me tell you about a fishing guide that worked for my brother and I back in the early eighties, way up in a place called Foleyet Ontario, about 10 hours north of Toronto.
His name was Tony Hutt, and he was quite the character. Him and his wife lived in a large trailer on about a half acre of land. Tony knew the rivers and lakes like the back of his hand. He took us places that only he knew and we definitely caught fish. Poor Tony’s wife was a real character in her own right. Standing about 5 foot nuthin, she constantly nagged him the whole time they were around each other. Often my brother and I looked at each other and questioned how he could stand her constant badgering. Tony was deaf in one ear. Something tells me whenever she started nattering at him, which was always, he would simply turn his deaf ear towards her, effectively muting her out.
I believe a big part of why a lot of Christians are lousy fishermen is because they’ve never really been trained PROPERLY. And no wonder. The people that are supposed to do the training suck at fishing themselves. One ‘Weekend Warrior’ with little or no real fishing experience setting a bad example or no example at all for all the other weekend warriors out there. What congregations of christians need is a ‘Dyed in the Wool’ fishing nut to show them the way to ‘present their bait’. Only problem is, a lot of christians don’t even have a fishing rod, never mind knowing how to fish. Many don’t even realize that becoming a ‘Fisher of Men’ is a huge part of being a ‘Disciple of Christ’. Shame on those who were supposed to give these people the ‘Memo’. You’ve really dropped the ball on this one.
Years ago I took my two sons to an outdoor show in Mississauga Ontario. One of the popular attractions was a large swimming pool sized water tank stocked with rainbow trout. The goal was to introduce children or anyone for that matter to the pastime of fishing. It was a great way to let a kid catch what may have been his or her first fish. Everything that was needed gear-wise was provided, so all the kid needed to do was drop the line in the water and before you knew it, they had a wriggling trout on the line ready for the net. If only ‘real fishing’ were so easy. It was quite literally as easy as “Shooting Fish in a Barrel”. Who cares? It was a whole lotta fun for both parents and kids.
Sad though it may seem, if it were up to the majority of church goers to go out and catch a fish for their supper tonight, they would probably end up starving. How can they catch a fish if their idea of going fishing is sitting in front of a wide screen TV watching Bob Izumi catch his limit week after week.
All I’m saying is things are going to have to change. People must first realize that they are expected to get out there on the lakes, rivers, ponds, or where ever the fish may be biting, and start wetting a line for themselves, or more accurately, for the Lord. The fish aren’t going to magically end up in your frying pans while you’re sitting around your house watching ’The Real Fishing Show’. It’s time that somebody who eats, sleeps, farts, and dies to go fishing takes you on your first ‘Fishing Trip’.
Oh how I wish you all could have met Tony Hutt and his feisty little wife. Now there was a real fisherman!
Glory be to the greatest fisherman of them all, the Father of all creation, and his Son the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen!
By Lucien Alexander Delean
Aka ‘Looch’
Saturday November 15th, 2025