Going out of Your Way to Help Others in Need...

That's the definition of a Good Samaritan. And given all the problems there are in the world today, it's refreshing to find good people who still live by this principle. Let me share a couple of instances I found online.

As the late outdoors humorist Ed Zern once wrote, "Most fishermen are born honest, but they get over it." Yet, there are some fish stories that are just so amazing that they couldn't possibly have been only a figment of someone's imagination.

Such is the catch-and-release tale of 14-year-old Connor Halsa who was drift-fishing Minnesota's Lake of the Woods, with his lure 20 feet down on the rocky bottom, when he set the hook on what he thought was a big walleye. His catch, however, turned out to be a wallet containing $2,000 in cash.

While some folks undoubtedly would have kept the money, that wasn't Connor's style. Thanks to a business card he also found in the wallet, a Halsa family member called the number on the card, and the person who answered knew that the wallet had been lost by Iowa farmer Jim Denney. The farmer was stunned to learn that his wallet, which he'd lost a year earlier, stuffed with 20-, 50- and 100-dollar bills, had been found.

Denney recalled that the waves on the lake that day were rough, and his wallet had slipped out of his overalls pocket. He didn't realize it had been lost overboard until he went to pay his motel bill. He was even more stunned when Halsa insisted on returning all of the money and would not accept a reward.

When Denney visited Halsa and his family to say thanks in person, his cash-reward offer again was turned down. Halsa did accept a customized cooler from Denney, who also treated the family to dinner at a local restaurant.

Not even the great author and fisherman Ernest Hemingway could have dreamed up a story that fantastic.

You also might enjoy the accompanying video at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Zwb7RYK-Bo.

(Editor's Note: I was surprised to learn that people who lose their wallet, as opposed to someone stealing it, shouldn't despair. The odds are good that someone will find and return it to you. According to a study in the journal Science in 2019, more than 50 percent of people who find lost wallets with money in them contact the owners and return their wallets, provided they can be found.)

In the second incident, Steve York had left his home in Bronson, Mich. to fish the Bassmaster Southern Open #1 on Lakes Toho and Kissimmee. To avoid the snow and slippery road conditions, he left Michigan a few days early but arrived a few days late, due to an accident on the slippery roads in Florida.

York's travel partner was driving his pickup when a rear tire lost traction, the driver lost control, and the truck towing York's boat spun off the roadway. The rig did a 180-degree turn before coming to a stop in a grassy median. There were no injuries, and the truck received only minor damage, but the boat and trailer flipped over.

Lamented York, "Driving on the interstate with the cruise control set to 70 mph isn't a good idea in the rain." (According to state troopers, "Cruise control should never be used on wet or icy roadways. If your wheels lose traction, the cruise control will continue to accelerate, causing the vehicle to skid. By the time you realize you're skidding, it could be too late.")

He and his partner continued to Kissimmee without a boat. Upon arrival, he updated his Facebook page to share news of the accident with friends. The post went viral and eventually extended outside his network of friends. One of those was a stranger: Lucas McDaniel, a tournament pro from Indiana.

The latter reached out to help a fellow angler in need. He offered his fully rigged and tournament-ready boat to York, even though the two of them never had met. All York had to do was travel to Clewiston, Fla., and pick up the boat in storage at Roland Martin's Marina.

York said he's seen acts of kindness extended to anglers in need before, but nothing like what he experienced.

"As anglers and tournament fishermen, we share information and even lures and gear," he said. "That's just how this sport works. I guess it shouldn't surprise me that generosity can include another guy's boat," he added.