KUSA – 96 years after casting his first line, a 104-year-old World War II veteran is now fishing at the water’s edge in Colorado, with his 94-year-old girlfriend by his side.
“Well, I started fishing in Nebraska on the Loup River when I was about 8 years old. I waded out in the water at night fishing for catfish,” Harold Nelson told 9NEWS.
He later joined the military, and served in the third infantry during World War II, under General George S. Patton. Throughout the war, he made six amphibious invasions and was shot four times.
“I haven’t near got killed fishing yet,” Nelson exclaimed while his 94-year-old girlfriend, Jeanne Gold, laughed in the background.
Nelson and Gold met on a bus to a casino nearly ten years ago. Nelson jokingly said, “Oh, I caught her. That was probably the wrong thing but that’s alright.” It didn’t take long for Nelson to introduce Gold to his true passion.
Nelson said his best catch came during a trip to Canada. The 104-year-old can’t travel that far anymore. He said fishing was getting “harder every day,” but he still stops every time he passes a lake and brings his girlfriend with him when he can.
“When I’m pushing up daisies, I’m going to quit fishing,” said Nelson.
