JASON AND ELIHU
A Fisherman’s Story
TEL: 352.213.5740 • WWW.WILDONIONPRESS.COM
This book is a work of fiction. Although some characters are historical persons and some places are real, the major characters and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
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Text copyright © 2010 by Shelley Fraser Mickle
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.
Library of Congress Control Number
2009943255
ISBN-13: 978-1-4566-1313-6
Wild Onion Press
Books Starring Kids With Physical Differences
12808 N.W. 56th Ave.
Gainesville, Florida 32653
352-213-5740
Fax 352-331-2577
Look for our interactive web site with downloadable lesson plans: www.wildonionpress.com
Also by Shelley Fraser Mickle
The Queen of October, N.Y. Times Notable Book
Replacing Dad, CBS/Hallmark Channel Movie
The Turning Hour, Florida Governor’s Award for Suicide Prevention
The Assigned Visit
The Kids are Gone; The Dog is Depressed & Mom’s on the Loose
Barbaro, America’s Horse
101 Dog Street, The Story of Amos, the Bummed-Out Canine, A chapter book
The Polio Hole, The Story of the Illness that Changed America - Adult version
The Polio Hole, The Story of the Illness that Changed America - Children’s version
As soon as Jason hears the legend of Elihu, he knows he must catch the great fish. But Old Snout, the gator, guards Elihu. Legend says, too, that whenever Elihu is hooked, the bass whispers a secret.
Adjusting to his family’s breakup, Jason can’t seem to stay out of trouble. His Grampy Luke comes from Michigan; and together, they learn how to fish for the legendary bass, Elihu. But trouble seems to follow Jason wherever he goes.
Two foster children join the chase with their miniature horse, Sundance, who refuses to be cured of his craving for peppermints. Complicating the hunt is Jazel, the girl next door, who needs Jason’s help to revise her dream of becoming an ice skater after a brain tumor robs her balance.
With the help of a magic stone, special lure, and the guidance of the mysterious Mr. Elihu Snow, Jason finally acquires the skill to catch Elihu. But the world’s greatest bass has a surprise to deliver. Little does Jason know that he is about to become Elihu’s next catch.
Weaving scientific fact with fiction, this is a classic fishing tale of a boy’s passage into manhood. A portion of the proceeds from this book is being donated to Florida’s foster care system and its focus on prevention. This novel is filled with images and sounds designed for families to read together.
“Aside from the wonderful overall story of Jason and Elihu, there are so many stories within. There is no doubt in my mind that this book will be a hit with young boys (girls too). It has much nonfiction information about fishing and the lake environment that boys love to learn. I have to say, Jason and Elihu had me hooked (no pun intended) from the beginning. This book needs to be in the hands of children. I literally couldn’t stop reading the second half.”
– Lynn McNeill, Grade School Principal and former Middle School Vice Principal for Curriculum.
AUTHOR’S NOTE
TO ALL CHILDREN THIS BOOK IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED.
This story has been handed down in my family for several generations. It has grown through the love of fishing passed from father to son, grandfather to grandson, and lives on in every boy who is awakened to his desire to catch the great fish of legends.
You will find here scientific facts and fishing lore woven together. Elihu is true to the authentic nature of any black bass, for which the Florida waters are renowned. As nature writer Pat Smith so aptly described in his essay, “Ole Iron Jaw”–No matter how we batter, shackle, and poison his world, he somehow survives and in so doing invests that world with a whisper of wildness. The black bass is the ultimate holdover—our past living in the present. He’s the guts and soul of American angling.
– Shelley Fraser Mickle,
Spring, 2009
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
These sources greatly enriched this book:
LAMAR UNDERWOOD’S THE BASS ALMANAC, by Lamar Underwood, Nick Lyons Books, Doubleday, New York, l979.
THE BASS FISHERMAN’S BIBLE, by Erwin A. Bauer, Doubleday and Company, New York, l980.
FLORIDA FISHING WEEKLY, a newspaper published in Jupiter, Florida.
“OUTDOORS,” A newspaper column written by Tim Tucker, April 6, 2007, describing the two greatest bass ever caught.
Thanks to Jean Dowling of Macclenny, Florida, who gave the story of Fred, the bass who lived in her pond. This story of Fred, I read on National Public Radio’s “Morning Edition” in the spring of 2000. Special thanks to my husband Parker, and to my son Paul, who kissed his first bass at the age of three.
And special appreciation to these renowned artists: Cover painting and chapter illustrations by Tom Sadler, Photographs by Richard Sexton, Cover design by Walton Dale, Book design by Valerie Seixas, Book illustrations and Sundance photographs by Debbie Garcia-Bengochea.
ONE
THE WIDE-AWAKE DREAM
Tic, tic, tic. The line in Jason’s hands bobs. The great fish Elihu is about to strike. “Shhhh. Wait. Careful. Go slow,” Grampy Luke whispers from the back of the jon boat behind Jason.
Near the bank, Jason thinks he sees bottle caps floating in the water. But suddenly the caps rise and swim toward him. They are alligator eyes. Jason swallows. “There! Old Snout! Grampy Luke, fight him off!”
Grampy Luke picks up a boat oar and holds it like a club.
Tic, tic, tic. Elihu is still nibbling.
Old Snout is the twelve-foot gator that guards Elihu. Old Snout never lets a fisherman pull Elihu into a boat, if he can help it.
Quick, like a lightning strike, Jason’s line disappears under water. “Now, Jason! Now! Set the hook!” Grampy Luke whisper-cries.
Jason jerks his line. He feels an answering tug from deep under water.
“Keep your rod tip up!” Grampy Luke yells.
“I’m trying!” Jason shouts back. A great yank bends Jason’s fishing rod double. A voice in his mind keeps coaching: