By Nancy Marlene Easler
I was 13 in the summer of 1984. I helped my aunt and uncle with their bait shop in Lobeco. I remember heading shrimp and emptying out crab cages. The main thing I remember that made me fall in love with fishing is catching my first fish. It was beautiful. I cleaned it and gave it to my Granddad Smith. It made him so happy. Since that day, I can now be considered a river rat. I still go fishing any chance I get.

<em>Beaufort Then &amp; Now: This moment in Beaufort’s history is an excerpt from the book “Beaufort ... Then and Now,” an anthology of memories compiled by Holly Kearns Lambert.</em>