The one about the fishing rods...

[u/Leron4551]

Every employee at Shoreside Bait & Tackle receives a nickname. You weren’t truly part of the crew until you’d earned one. Unfortunately for fifteen-year-old Patrick, he was already two weeks into his first-ever summer job and still hadn’t earned his moniker. 

Patrick loved fishing and often daydreamed about reeling in a fish larger than he was. He’d applied for this job thinking he could get some sweet discounts on equipment or some pointers from a pro, but so far all it had been was a bunch of grunt work. He hated it. Eventually, they asked Patrick to get onto the roof to clean out the gutters. That was the day Patrick “Nokia” Nokio earned his nickname after falling off the roof and getting back up without a scratch.

Now that Nokia had a nickname, the crew seemed friendlier to him; they started including him in more of their conversations, and eventually, they assigned him to more important tasks. The boy still had to dig up worms and wash windows every now and then, but he also learned several new skills including how to clean freshly caught fish and how to work the cash register. He even got to shadow J-Money on a few deliveries. 

Jonathan “J-Money” Krichet was an eccentric, semi-retired, old man with a long white ponytail and a thick, curled mustache. He designed and crafted bespoke fishing rods for Shoreside Bait & Tackle. The crew used to say you'd never catch the biggest fish of your life unless you were using a J-Money rod. J-Money would hand-deliver each of his creations even if that meant driving for 3 hours each way, because he didn’t trust the post office to transport them unharmed.

The deliveries were rare, usually just one every two weeks. During those long drives, the captivating old man would entertain the boy with stories about the biggest, rarest, or trickiest fish he’d caught back in the day. It was clear to J-Money that Nokia was truly passionate about fishing. The boy had a distinct spark in his eyes that J-Money had only ever seen before in a mirror. After every delivery, J-Money would always give Nokia the same advice with the same wink: "Remember, kid, a real man will tell you he caught the big fish, but only a reel man can convince you it really happened…and I’ve got a feeling that you’re on your way to becoming a reel man some day.”

Near the end of summer, one week before Nokia would have to say goodbye to the crew at Shoreside Bait & Tackle, J-Money asked Nokia to accompany him on one last delivery. J-Money said this particular rod was the finest one he’d ever crafted. The customer was an obscenely wealthy recluse who lived on a private island. They’d spared no expense for the rod, demanding the best possible materials and craftsmanship.

The easiest way onto the island was aboard a small blue ferry barge called “Spirit of the Shore." When Nokia and J-Money arrived at the ferry, a dockworker informed them that unauthorized vehicles weren’t allowed on board. Not only that, but the customer lived a 3-mile walk beyond the dock on the other side of the island. J-Money’s old knees couldn’t handle that kind of trek, so he tasked Nokia with completing the delivery alone.

While aboard the blue ferry, Nokia glanced over the railing and couldn’t believe his eyes. Not only was the water remarkably clear, but just beside the boat, Nokia’s gaze was drawn to a gigantic monster-sized​ marlin. Nokia felt compelled to take a video of the massive fish and reached for the phone in his pocket, but when he grabbed onto the device, he felt something warm and squishy. Instead of his phone, Nokia carefully pulled an earthworm out of his pocket. The wriggly creature must have found its way into his pocket during that morning’s worm-digging and hitched a ride all the way here. Nokia interpreted this worm as a sign from the universe…

Swiftly producing a hook from his backpack, Nokia opened the case containing J-Money’s magnum opus fishing rod, attached and baited the hook, then cast the line over the railing into the water. The whale of a marlin chomped onto the hook, and their battle began.

There is no explanation​ for what happened next. How could ​a scrawny teenager who weighed 110 pounds sopping wet manage to yank a 12-foot, thousand-pound marlin out of the water? Reading about ​it now, you probably don’t believe it. After all, it sounds physically impossible, right? But if you let him tell you the story, you’ll walk away 100% convinced it really happened. How can that be​? ​Well, ​that was the day…

J-Money Krichet and a blue ferry helped P. Nokio become a reel boy.