James Banks II, fourth from left, grew up fishing with his father James Banks, far left, and now uses the knowledge to win bass fishing tournaments. In September he will travel to Florence, Ala., for the 2009 American Fishing Tour National Championship. Above: The duo are seen with family members following a deep-sea fishing trip in the Gulf of Mexico. Some of James Banks II's earliest memories are of fishing with his dad.

While other kids were getting in the last few hours of shuteye before awaking for Saturday morning cartoons, Banks was being taught the art of the cast.

"He had me up at 4 o'clock every Saturday to go fishing," Banks said.

Although the early-morning wake-up calls were somewhat of a nuisance at the time, Banks would not trade the tutoring for anything; especially since fishing began paying some of the bills.

In addition to receiving winner's checks from a number of smaller fishing tournaments, Banks currently leads the points race in his local district of the American Bass Anglers American Fishing Tour. The ABA proclaims to be the "largest tournament trail dedicated to the weekend angler."

With a first-, second- and two fourth-place finishes to his credit, the total of 793 points places him at No. 202 among the top 500 members in the nation and earns him a berth in the 2009 American Fishing Tour National Championship at Pickwick Lake in Florence, Ala., in late September. The winner there will receive $100,000.

"It paid off," Banks said of the childhood fishing trips. "As long as you stay in the top five [at most tournaments], then everything is good, and they cut a check. Usually, I'll pay $100 for an entry fee and come home with $1,000."

The Lampasas High School graduate began hitting the touring circuit shortly after completing a stint in Iraq, where he was stationed from February 2004 to April 2005.

"In the Army, I didn't have too much time to fish, but when I came back from Iraq I told my wife, 'I've spent a lot of time away from home, and I think I want to take a break and start working on my hobby.' "

During the tour of duty, Banks, a U.S. Army sergeant., served with the 4th Infantry Division and was responsible for convoy security, among other things.

"We did so many missions out there. I don't remember a day off," Banks said. "All I could think about was family, of course, and then going fishing because there is nothing less stressful."

Luckily, Banks found a brief shred of serenity while deployed, albeit in a unusual setting.

"We actually fished in Iraq and caught some weird fish out there," he said. "[We fished] in Baghdad, right off one of Saddam [Hussein's] palaces. He had a private lake over there, and he had it stocked with a bunch of exotic fish.

"It was pretty neat."

Banks currently works as an Army recruiter.

Although dropping his line into the former Iraqi president's personal lake was the most unique fishing experience of his lifetime, Banks' most cherished memories revolve around time spent on the water with his lifelong fishing partner.

While growing up, Banks and his father often would compete to see who could reel in the most fish. Like most rivalries, the competition occasionally became intense, even though it was all for fun.

"One day, he caught five fish, and I only had four and then, finally, I caught that fifth fish and tied him," Banks recalled. "He actually hooked a sixth fish, and I was the net guy, so I went down and I shook the fish off his hook with the net so he wouldn't beat me.

"That was the funniest story we had."

Recently, Banks and his father created another memory as the two went deep-sea fishing 21 nautical miles into the Gulf of Mexico on Father's Day in honor of the younger Banks' grandfather, Waymon Edward Banks. The duo were joined by Waymon Banks' two other sons and both of their sons.

The initial hours at sea, however, yielded very little enjoyment for the three cousins.

"We all got sea sick," Banks said. "We spent the first two hours hanging our heads over the side of the boat while my Dad and uncles were just laughing it up."

The cousins eventually found their sea legs and by the time the group returned to dry land at Port Aransas, the boat was filled with red snapper and king mackerel.

More important than the haul was the fact the group came together in remembrance of the man who passed down his love of fishing three generations ago.

"A lot of people lose relations with their family, but I think fishing has enabled us to spend weekends together," Banks said. "My best partner is my Dad.

"It meant a lot, and we all had fun."