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 This story is dedicated to my brother, Dr. Robert H. Hutchins, who died unexpectedly in June at 59. He will be greatly missed by those who loved and respected him for the lifelong love and dedication he gave to his family, his patients and his community of Wilmington.

To any father who has a son:

I would like to share a story about a young man who has a special love for bass angling. His name is Lucas McCain Hutchins. Although he is my son, I can be fairly objective in saying his dedication to the sport exceeds that of anyone I've ever known at his age. (He turned 15 on April 29).

Lucas has been bass angling seriously for only three years. But he has learned more in that time than many adults who have practiced the sport for decades. He routinely devours any information he can get his hands on related to bass angling, his mind acting like a magnet in the process.

I took up the sport mostly because it allowed me to spend time with him, and it offered the peacefulness of the great outdoors. I never envisioned the rewards it would bring to our relationship.

Lucas and I began fishing in competitive tournaments about 15 months ago and decided to join the Ridgeway Bass Anglers club, with whom we had fished in an open tournament.

We quickly learned by competing against our club members that there are a lot of good anglers who know how to catch fish even under the toughest conditions. Anyone who has ever fished competitively knows anglers are certainly no stranger to humility.

Lucas and I were no exception.

Finishing close to the bottom of the standings in most tournaments seemed only to increase Lucas' desire to better understand the secrets which would lead to success. He vowed to learn as much as possible and set a goal of finishing in the top three in this year's Angler of the Year points standings. He memorized every lake, every type of lure, every kind of rod and reel and their respective purpose. He studied the effects of water temperature and wind on fishing habitats. He practiced endlessly on our electronics in order to better increase his chances of locating and catching fish.

Our club averages 12 to 15 two-man boats per tournament, which includes some experienced anglers. I reluctantly told my son his goal of finishing in the top three this year might be too optimistic. Although I was happy he had committed himself to something he loves, I felt that setting his goals too high this early might reduce his dedication to the sport.

But he kept insisting his goal was achievable and that he would work as hard as necessary to achieve it.

He lived up to his promise to become the best angler he could be. I recall only two or three weekends he and I were not fishing on some lake in 30- to 40-degree weather, often in the rain and wind. Getting up at 3 or 4 a.m. and riding 2 to 3 hours to our destination lake of the week became a regular occurrence. It gave us many hours to discuss angling strategies of the new lake we were about to fish — but, more importantly, life's strategies as well.

He soon realized the powerful connection between how we prepare ourselves mentally and physically as we try and master our craft and the vital role our attitude plays in achieving success and, more importantly, dealing with failure. Failure is a common component of bass fishing. The person who can use failure as motivation will more often than not achieve success.

Lucas began to realize the mental aspect of angling is as important, if not more important, than motor skills and the knowledge. Over that six- to eight-month span, he grew from a boy to a young man both physically and emotionally. As a father, I wouldn't trade the experience for all of the money in the world.

When we showed up for our first tournament this season in early March, he was full of confidence and anticipation. I was hoping for a middle of the pack finish that would reward him for his hard work.

His one and only focus was winning first place.

We went on to take first place in the first two tournaments we entered this season and have finished in the top three in eight of the 11 we've entered this season. We won the Angler of the Year award, and held first place since Day 1. Quite a turn around from the previous year, when finishing in the top seven was reason to celebrate.

Although I am 35 years his senior, I learned an inspirational lesson from my son during the past 15 months: There is truly nothing in life that we can't achieve if only we have faith in God, faith in our abilities, focus only on the positives while using the negatives as motivation and truly dedicate ourselves both mentally and physically so that we may improve ourselves every day.

It is Lucas' dream to become a professional angler and to fish against the top anglers in the world. What I think makes him special is not his search for fame or fortune, but the self satisfaction he achieves through the constant improvement of his knowledge of this sport, moving closer to his dream of being the best angler that he can be. After what he has taught me over the past two years, I have no doubt he will someday realize his dream.

I love and respect my son for the person he is now and the man I have no doubt one day he will become. He is a young man any father would be proud to call their angling partner.

And their son.