" 'We need to go get fish for the widows.' That's the excuse they'd use," recalls Diana. "Scott didn't really care why they were going, but they did bring fish to the widows and he did learn about service."

He also learned about fly fishing.

"He's really good at it," matter-of-factly states Tip. "He can place that fly where he wants to."

Tip downplays the role he played in developing Scotty's skill, but from older brother Josh's viewpoint, there's no question what turned his kid brother into a fly-fishing superstar.

"My grandpa's been able to spend a lot of time with him. That's the difference," he says. "It's amazing to watch him. You see this 13-year-old kid and then your jaw drops because you can't believe what he can do."

At the recent contest in St. George, says Josh, "He just kept dropping that fly right in the hoops."

The casting was instinct, just as it was instinct to immediately invite his grandpa to accompany him to Alaska when he realized he'd won the trip.

Plans have expanded since then. Besides Scotty and Tip, Josh and another brother, Jeff, now might join the fishing trip, and possibly their father, Gary.

And they'll likely wait to go in the summer of 2010 so everyone has time to save up.

"We're going to fishing paradise," says Scotty. "It's the best place in the world; there's tons of salmon and you catch a lot."

He wouldn't think of going to fishing paradise without Grandpa.

"He taught me how (to fish) and he spent a lot of time with me," says Scotty. "He's like one of the best people there is."

Lee Benson's column runs Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Please send e-mail to benson@desnews.com