With both happiness and sadness we wish Tommy Sliker a happy 22nd birthday. Tommy, my grandson, and the son of Tom Sliker the Director of Information Technology, has attending the school of fly fishing since he was a small fry.
With great fondness, I can remember his love of sports especially football and especially trout fishing as he grew up. I have fond memories of his trout fishing expertise like the time at Deep Creek when he caught two nice 12+ inch trout before we finished setting up the tent, or when we were camping at a camp with a tiny pond. I told him to fish in that tiny pond to occupy his time while we set up the tent. I thought he might catch a sun fish, but I was amazed to see him coming across the meadow with a 3 pound bass.
Most of all, I will never forget a fish hook that became lodged extremely deep into his thigh while we were fishing in the Walker Camp Prong in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. After several attempts to retrieve the hook, I had decided to take him to a local doctor. (I could not tolerate the sight of blood on my grandson.) As we walked up the stream to a get out point, we came across a large pool with several trout in it. Tommy just yanked that hook out of his bloody leg an proceeded to fish that pool, no doctor was necessary.
As his trout fishing advanced, he became a fly fisherman creating and selling his own fly creations. Now however, he has another love that is taking some of his time, a beautiful young lady and did I mention her family’s bass pond?