The University News (Irving, Tex.), Vol. 26, No. 5, Ed. 1 Wednesday, October 3, 2001 Page: 3 of 12
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The University News
News
October 3, 2001
Msgr. Milam Joseph: fisher of... fish
President relates excitement of life-long pastime
by Julie Danaher
Co-Editor in Chief
To most UD students, Msgr. Milam
Joseph is the president of the university,
and details about what he does in his free
time are few if any at all.
Visiting Rockfish, a seafood restaurant
on MacArthur, a student would learn that
Msgr. Joseph is known for more than be-
ing the president of UD; he is also an avid
fisherman.
In the seating area, there is a mount
of a fish and painted on the edges is a
quote by Msgr. Joseph: "Fish, it's not just
for Fridays anymore."
Msgr. Joseph has never seen the
mount, and was quite surprised when the
restaurant called him asking permission
to use his name.
"They [the owners of Rockfish] called
me when they opened and asked if they
could put my name on a fish," he said.
"Since then several people have men-
tioned seeing it to me."
Though fishing might seem a far cry
from being president of a university, Msgr.
Joseph sees some connections between
his hobby and UD.
"There are lots offish stories like Moby
Dick or Hemingway's The Old Man and
the Sea,"he said. "There's just something
fascinating about fishing."
Msgr. Joseph began fishing when he
was a boy growing up in Tyler, Texas. He
would take off on his own and walk to the
lake near his house to catch fish.
"My dog and I would walktoa lakejust
a block away, and I'd take my rod and reel
and fish for bass," he said.
There were times he would go with a
friend and fish off the pier to catch sand
bass.
"One time I caught a bass and brought
it home and left it in the sink for my
mother. I was really proud of my fish, but
she didn't know what to think when she
saw this fish in the sink," he said.
Msgr. Joseph fished for many years
when he was a young man but stopped
as he grew older. When he found a fish-
ing partner, he began to revisit the joys
of his youth.
Ti
"It wasn't until the late '70s when Fr.
Henry Petter became an associate pastor
at a parish with me that I took it up again,"
he said.
"The two of us would go fishing at
this particular lake in East Texas; in fact,
we continue to fish for bass there today,"
Msgr. Joseph said.
Though he fishes primarily in East
Texas, Msgr. Joseph and Fr. Petter have
made a number of fishing trips to distant
locales.
The two of them have fished in Brazil
along the Amazon River on two different
occasions.
"When you fish on the Amazon, it's a
week-long trip. You sleep on the boat at
night and fish during
the day," he said.
Msgr. Joseph fishes
for peacock bass that
live in the coves of the
tropics. The fish vary
in size from eight to
25 pounds.
"These fish are ex-
tremely strong; you
have to use 80-pound
braided line to pull
them into the boat,"
he said.
For the Amazon
trips, Msgr. Joseph
flies from Florida into
Manaus and then trav-
els to a small village
where he takes a boat
onto the Rio Negro
that flows into the
Amazon.
"There are certain
characteristics about
fishermen. They are
always optimistic, and
they are extremely
patient," he said.
"You have to be op-
timistic. When you're
out there every time,
you think that this will be the day."
Msgr. Joseph has also made several
trips to Alaska to fish for king salmon.
He travels to the western end of the
Kodiak island and fish on the mouth of
the Ayakulik river.
"Fishing for salmon you learn a lot. The
Pacific salmon come back up the river to
where they were spawned to die. When
you catch them, it can take a half-hour to
bring them into the boat," he said.
One year he caught a 40-pound king
salmon, and he ran down the bankto reel
it in out of the current.
"You'll do anything to catch a fish," he
said.
The sport of fishing incorporates many
elements including the unspoken com-
petition.
"When I fish with Henry, it's the ca-
maraderie during and after that is really
enjoyable. We say it doesn't matter who
catches the biggest fish, but it really does,"
he said.
When Msgr. Joseph fishes, he is always
trying new baits and a different presenta-
tion on the water.
"There's a certain poetry to it that
involves art and skill," he said. "I usually
go out and fish with three or four rods
at a time."
Finding time to fish is always a chal-
lenge in itself. Msgr. Joseph always has a
busy schedule, and his friend Fr. Petter is
the pastor of the largest parish in Dallas.
The two have to sit down and find a time
that works for both of their schedules.
"We haven't been able to plan a fishing
trip yet; we really need to go out to Tyler
in October because it's the best season,"
he said.
Fishing during the year, Msgr. Joseph
has to take a weekday off and get up at
5 a.m. to drive out to East Texas. Msgr.
Joseph packs a sack lunch for himself and
Fr. Petter, and they fish the whole day.
"Usually in the afternoon we take a nap
and drink a few beers; it's a very prayerful
experience," he said.
The largest fish that he has ever caught
was in March of 1994 at a lake in Tyler.
"I was fighting with this huge fish trying
to get him into the boat; and because I
was fishing by myself, I knew that if I didn't
get him into the boat no one was ever
going to believe me," he said.
Msgr. Joseph caught the fish, and it was
more than 24 inches long.
"It's a wonderful sport," he said. "It's
very relaxing while incorporating real
skill."
photo by Julie Danaher
A mount at Rockfish restaurant bears a quote by Msgr. Milam Joseph: "Fish, it's
not just for Fridays anymore." Msgr. Joseph is an avid fisherman in Texas and
throughout the Americas. He has fished in the Amazon and in Alaska several
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Watson, Thomas & Danaher, Julie. The University News (Irving, Tex.), Vol. 26, No. 5, Ed. 1 Wednesday, October 3, 2001, newspaper, October 3, 2001; Irving, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth201346/m1/3/?q=%22Education+-+Schools+-+Students%22: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting University of Dallas.