First Tackle Box.......

I recieved this hand-me-down tackle box from my dad. He had used it for years and decided that he needed a larger box and it was time for me to have "my very own tackle box". It was a small, light green, metal box with no trays inside, so you just piled your fishing stuff in the box, which worked well for a kid, sort of. I remember that I thought that I had hit the fishing jackpot, my very own tackle box. Do you know what the first thing a kid does to his own, hand-me-down tackle box?  He paints it! So, I had a can of red spray paint that I had used on a small plastic model car and painted my first tackle box, red. My dad wasn't too happy about it, but he didn't say a word. I guess he thought that it was a sign of me valuing it, which was true.  

I carried it around to all of our secret fishing holes. The only problem was that everything inside turned into a tangled mess. I quickly learned, that I hated my first tackle box. It took 15 minutes to untangle the mess every time I wanted a lure, hook or what not. After a few years, I think that my father finally got tired of the frustration and bought me a new tackle box with "trays". It was a beautiful thing! I repurposed my "little red tackle box" to my new "little red paint box" to hold all my tube paints. It's amazing that the "little red tackle box" has traveled to all of my favorite lakes, rivers and bays and now it's used to paint all those lakes, rivers and bays! Funny how it connects the past with the future. I cherish it very much.....

Paddle over to my website, LeoLakes.com. I paint beautiful lake, river and bay decor maps. Folks are discovering that these decor maps are wonderfully unique gifts that become family heirlooms. Oh yeah, I hide things in the lake waters, such as a tiny mermaid/fish. Folks love to search for them. I call my maps, treasured maps because most folks have that special body of water that they treasure. My treasured maps make a great gifts for the fisherman, lake lover, or Lake house. 

As you can see, my maps make a great gift.   Click here www.LeoLakes.com for more information.

Just remember: "Life is short, get away from the big screen and get on a big stream".

Lake Cartoons Two......

Misunderstanding the bobber? They are really alive, well in my mind! Yes, I am still doing bobber cartoons. I thought that I would have moved on to some other subject by now, but no..... I am still pumping out more bobber toons, in fact, I have ten completed and ready to go in the future. I am pretty amazed by myself for continuing the bobber cartoons. Enjoy......

I like this "Reel Emergency". I made one mistake, the building should have been a multi-level tackle box. 

Yes, bobbers have needs too! If you want your bobber to reach its full potential, "Treat your bobber right!"

I do custom and personalized lake, river, island or bay decor maps. They make a great gift for the lake lover. If you would like to see if we have your body of water, go to LeoLakes.com. 

Fiddling for Worms........

What is a fiddler worm? I didn't know at the tender age of 10, but fiddler worms is what my dad and uncle told me and my cousin that we would be hunting. I thought, this must be a joke like the time they took us "snipe hunting" with a bag and a stick.......

Anyway, we were off in our red 57 Chevolet Station Wagon headed to somewhere near the Tennessee/Alabama line. 

The car finally stopped on a country road near a hill loaded with cedar trees. We all piled out of the wagon. I assumed that I would hear fiddle music but only heard birds. Thank God, I didn't hear "banjo music", if you know what I mean... 

My dad told us to look for rocks about the size of a dinner plate and about an 1" or 2" thick. I'm thinking  what do we do with rocks, dig for worms. The good thing, there were plenty of rocks about the size that he described, because cedar trees normally grow near limestone in thin soil, so there were plenty of rocks. We carried three or four rocks up the hill and I noticed that there were many cedar stumps about 2-3 inch in diameter and were sawed off about two feet from the ground. 

My dad said "Okay, its' time to fiddle up some worms".  "Grab a rock and bring it over to this cedar stump". "Now watch me". He took the rock and lifted on top of the stump and began moving it back and forth, kind of like you're playing a fiddle. Humm.....I'm thinking this is interesting.....is this a joke? 

After about 5 minutes of fiddling, worms began to appear all around the stump. It was amazing! They were everywhere, wiggling in the leaf litter. 

We begin to pick up the worms "like picking blackberries". We ended up with nearly a hundred fat, shiny, red worms. It wasn't long that we all piled back in the 57 chevy and headed to our favorite fishing hole. Interestingly, we only went fiddle worm hunting, once. I think this was something that they must have done when they were a kid and thought that it would be cool for us to experience. I must say, it was a special time and I always remember fiddling for worms........ 


Hey, paddle over to my website, LeoLakes.com for a beautiful lake, river, or bay map by me. Folks are discovering that these decor maps are wonderfully unique gifts that become family heirlooms. Oh yeah, I hide things in the lake waters, such as a tiny mermaid/fish. Folks love to search for them. I call my maps, treasured maps because most folks have that special body of water that they treasure. My treasured maps make a great gifts for the fisherman, lake lover, or Lake house. 

As you can see, my maps make a great gift.  Click here www.LeoLakes.com for more information.