Some guys just get it.

From the very beginning of a new endeavor, some anglers seem to understand the true joys of fishing.

Craig Wells had wetted a line before. The 10-year-old Camden County fourth-grader had fished a couple of times in Florida.

But he had never been freshwater fishing. So when he was invited to join myself and his dad on a quick Friday afternoon getaway, there was some uncertainty as to how he would do.

Craigy, who also goes by Little Craig, is a typical 10-year-old boy in every sense of the description. So you get the picture.

When dad and I pulled up to the mouth of a ditch that drained into Sawyer's Creek, we weren't sure how he would do.

To put it mildly, he did great. Many seasoned fishing veterans should be so lucky as to have his wonderful attitude.

Not only did he listen to instructions on how to wait for the bobber to go down, and wait for the line to come tight before slightly setting the hook, but he practiced what he was taught. Sure, quite a few bites got away. But that's fishing and Craigy seemed to understand. He didn't get upset at losing a fish or two.

And he quickly mastered the fine art of fish joking, rubbing it in hard on his dad when the elder Craig missed a fish. It helped that the youngster caught the first fish, the most fish, and a nice variety to boot. Craigy boated crappie, bluegill, white perch and pumpkinseed - finishing with a nice beginner's total of eight fish.

"Oh, let's see . . . 4 fish for the young boy and none for the old man," he quipped halfway through the trip, a wry smile firmly planted across his face.

But the most impressive thing about the short afternoon on the water was Craigy's apparent understanding of the relaxation aspects of fishing. That sunk in when, after making a cast and catching a fish of my own, I looked back and noticed that he had reeled in his cork and worm, and was watching me cast a small jig into shoreline cover.

I appologized for not paying closer attention. I should have, I explained, stopped what I was doing so that I could get his bait back into what was turning out to be a wonderfully little honey hole. This trip wasn't about me or dad catching fish. It was about him and making sure he had a memorable experience.

But it didn't seem to bother Craigy that I had taken a brief moment for my own enjoyment.

"That's OK, Mr. Lee," he said. "I'm just having fun watching you catch some."

Yep! Some guys just get it.