No amount of gear will beat luck

I love this little story. Being a non-fisherman in the land of 10,000 lakes, I’ve never had any appreciation for all of the elaborate, expensive gear accumulated by those who fish. Many times I’ve pretended interest when shown fishing gear, chuckling inside at the absurdity we all exhibit with our hobbies. I recall fondly the story, long ago, about a Hmong immigrant who was arrested for catching a barrel’s worth of fish from a local in-city lake. He didn’t know about limits, and was just trying to feed his family and make some money. In the news today though, is the story of a Grandpa in North Carolina who caught a RECORD catfish while holding his granddaughters rod and reel… a Barbie rod and reel. I checked the prices, and that rod and reel for little girls costs under $20. Now I really wonder whether Grandpa is going to go get his own Barbie rod and reel and chuck the rest of his gear?