My dad tried to teach me a lot of things, but being a kid I really didn't pay attention most of the time. As a result I have been destined to go through life learning things the hard way. However, one of dad's lessons that I did take to heart was that fishing should be fun.

The other day a fellow fishing guide was bemoaning a recent charter. He went on and on about how his fisherman just wasn't serious enough. I tried my best not laugh as I told him that he was "more than welcome to send all his 'non-serious fishermen' my way. In fact, I have a charter fishing sign on the back of my truck with the slogan: "We will get you a trophy if it takes your last dollar." The sign is designed to catch the interest of fishermen who still have a sense of humor, which as far as I am concerned is one of the best traits a fisherman can possess.

The passage of time can greatly influence what qualifies as funny. When I was growing up, I'm pretty sure my dad tried to teach me to be careful around sharp tools. Of course, like most kids, I really wasn't listening and unfortunately to this day I continue to learn this lesson the hard way. One day we were trolling along when both outriggers popped out and then the flat lines also started screaming. I jumped up and ran to the back of the boat intent on getting the rod with the biggest fish and, in the process, stepped squarely on the lip gaff that was stored under the rear gunnel. The sharp point came shooting right out the side of my foot with the tip sticking a few inches above my bare my foot. I let out a loud yelp and immediately looked to my dad for some help. He put his rod down (and of course lost his fish) and quickly pulled the gaff out of my foot. All he could say was, "That was stupid!" As usual, Dad was dead on. I can assure you at the time I didn't see anything funny about having a gaff stick out of my foot, but fortunately time has a way of changing things. To this day, whenever I pick up a lip gaff, I can't help recalling fishing with my dad, and I have to smile.

Lots of funny things can happen while out fishing. However, one of the funniest places on earth has to be the local boat ramp. Those few moments when launching and recovering your boat can turn into years of laughter. I am truly convinced that most great curse words, as well as quite a few divorces, actually found their origin somewhere near a public boat ramp.

If you want a good laugh, just visit a public boat ramp on a weekend. It frequently is like comedy central. There is inevitably a guy who has to drive his overpowered boat onto the trailer instead of winching it on. This bozo will confidently line up the boat with the trailer and then promptly launch the entire bow of the boat right over the winch post, almost sending the boat flying into the bed of his truck as a result of using way too much throttle.

Of course, it doesn't take too long before you get to watch the hapless goof who fails to put the drain plug in. This guy is easy to locate as everyone in the boat is yelling at him at the top of their lungs, as the boat begins to quickly fill with water and he struggles in vain to find the @%•# plug in the flooded bilges. Note: try hanging your bilge plug on a Velcro strap on your steering wheel as a reminder. This should help keep you from launching the boat without putting the plug in. (Please don't ask how I know this.)

My favorite boat ramp adventure occurred while watching an inexperienced boater trying to launch his brand new large full-keeled sailboat. He dutifully put his wife and kids in the boat and then slowly started backing the trailer down the long steep ramp. I could hear him mutter a few classic ramp words as he discovered that even with the rear tires of the truck in the water, there just wasn't enough water to float the big boat off the trailer. Like jackals, a crowd quickly assembled to observe this poor guy's predicament. Sensing that the whole world was watching, he quickly jumped in his truck and smoked the tires until the boat trailer was again near the top of the long steep ramp.

We watched curiously, as he blocked the tires on the boat trailer and then disconnected the truck from the trailer. He tied one end of a heavy rope to the tongue of the trailer and the other end to the truck's hitch-ball. He then unblocked the trailer tires and once again started slowly backing down toward the water. He gave the crowd a faint smile, growing confident that the extra distance provided by the rope would be more than enough to allow him to get the trailer deeper into the water so that the boat would easily float off.

I have to assume that on the day that his dad was trying to teach him how to tie knots he, too, wasn't paying much attention, as the rope came quickly flying off the trailer hitch. This resulted in his wife and kids joining in a chorus of screams as the heavy boat immediately picked up speed and headed down the steep ramp out of control. The boat careened into the water making a loud KAPOW which sent a huge wave flying up along side the boat.

Through a watery curtain you could see the still screaming wife and kids as they flew towards the stern of the boat as the boat rapidly decelerated upon hitting the water. Stunned, the poor guy slammed on the brakes, jumped out of his truck and tried to figure out exactly what had gone wrong. He realized that his family had survived the bizarre launching at about the same moment he noticed that his trailer was continuing to descend deeper and deeper off the end of the ramp. Without thinking (duh-why start now?), he grabbed the end of the rope and of course was unceremoniously dragged down the rest of the ramp. As the crowd of jackals stood there laughing, I'm pretty sure we all were thinking the same thing: "Boy, I sure wish I would have got that on video."

Come to think about it, family trips to the boat ramp might be exactly why kids don't listen to their dads when they are trying to teach them everything he knows.

If you have any funny fishing stories to share, drop me an e-mail.

Capt. Pete Peterson welcomes comments and suggestions sent to petersonventures@aol.com.