Thursday, March 22, 2012

A Quick Sneak Down To The Lake

  Tuesday evening after a long day at work, I found myself pondering the thought of sneaking down to the lake for an hour on my long drive home. Do I go, should I stay home,or  Should I tie up some flies? Ahhh what the heck, I'm goin fishin! Soon after I arrived home I found out my little fishing buddy(my son) had a Cub Scout meeting, and I was really hoping to get him out there. I was kind of bummed out. I love sharing the fishing experience with others. What am I to do now? As I sat and pondered, I heard the soulful voice of my daughter. I thought she wasn't home when I arrived at the house because it was so quiet when I walked in. As soon as she rounded the corner she saw me. DADDY! she screamed as she ran over and lunged into my arms greeting me with her usually giant hug. I asked how her day was as usual and then proceeded to ask her if she would like to join me at the lake. I had already known what the answer was going to be, and I think she replied yes as loud as she could before I even got the question out. So I rigged up the rods, and headed across the street to the gas station to get her some worms, drinks, and a big ole cookie. We then proceeded to our shore spot, sat down and got our gear ready. As she started chomping on her cookie, I slipped a crawler on her hook and told her to cast away. We sat there watching her bobber for a few while I rigged up my twister tail. As I turned around for a quick second, I heard a splurge of excitement, I got one! As most young ones do, she started reeling like a bat out of hell. I told her to slow down a little and take your time, or he could get off. So that is exactly what she did. The first fish of the year for her was this nice 8"+ Crappie.

 We snapped a few quick photos, and released the Crappie to catch another day. Full of excitement, she casted  back out in hopes of another fish. I brought my fly rod down with me to see if i could entice a Bass to bite on my popper. No luck for me, but once again my little angler hooked into another fish. This time she reeled him in slow and smooth just like a pro. This time it was a nice gill.

 Full of excitement my daughter turned and looked at me and said thanks daddy. It put a smile on my face to say the least. The sun was setting on the horizon and fishing time had come to an end. We packed up our gear, and started heading back. The whole she held my hand thanking me and talking about the fish she caught. As we got back to the truck she said to me," I can't wait to come back." Soon real soon I replied. We headed down the street for home and met up with my son and wife. My daughter couldn't wait to tell mama about her evening over a scoop of ice cream.

19 comments:

  1. The smile in both pictures tells the story.

    Mark

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  2. Kids + Fish = Good times and great memories. Great pics and great smiles all around. Thanks for sharing. Tight Lines.

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    1. Trout, you are right on. I loved your post as well, on your outing with your little one. When ever I am fishing with the kids I could careless if I catch something as long as they are having a great time.

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  3. That's a great fish and a wonderful memory right there. Keep those going Brian!

    You sure that crappie is only 8 inches? Looks pretty healthy to me, yes sir!

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    1. It may have been slightly over 8, but I consider it small for Candlewick. I will keep about 15 a year for the frying pan, and they are usually over 9 1/2". Last year my big one for the year was 15". Got to love the kids enjoying the fishing though

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  4. Brian
    What a great story, it is always a good thing to get your children involved in fishing. They will never forget those trips and neither will you. I wish more Dad’s would get there children involved in fishing and just being outside and enjoying the outdoors. Now days it seems parent never have the time to get their children involved in outdoor activities. I always found time to carry both my daughter and son fishing. Both still love to go with me when they are home. Thanks for sharing a great outing.

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    1. Bill, i couldn't agree more. There has been dramatic decreases in youth involvement in the outdoors. Weather it be fishing, hunting, camping, or hiking the next generation doesn't seem to have the interest, and that to me is very depressing. Growing up I hated being inside. My son plays way to many video games at times, and I have worked very hard to get both of my children out of the house to do many constructive things. Some of my best fishing memories are recent. Three generations sharing the water together. My father, my son, and I always fish a couple times a year together. The newest addition is my daughter ;)

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  5. Great story! Always nice for a kid to catch a few fish, seems like you're doing a great job getting your kids into fishin!

    And also as other Blake said, that crappie looks bigger than 8 inches to me!

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    1. Thanks Blake! It may have been slightly over 8" , but for this lake it is a smaller one. Throughout the season my average is usually 9 1/2 to 12 inch long. Thanks for the comment!

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  6. If anyone ever wonders what being a parent is all about, this is it.

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  7. I love this post! The first picture is my favourite, with the sunset and huge smile and nice crappie too! Great job on getting kids into fishing!!

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    1. Thanks Ashley! The photo you like is has been my screensaver since the outing.

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  8. I think she'll be out-fishing you in no time!! I wish you and your kids many more great adventures together.

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    1. Thanks Fly angler! and they already out fish me unless it is fly fishing, but I am sure that will change in the near future

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  9. Love to see kids with fish! Great post.

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    1. Thanks Adam! Kids and fishing is the only way we can preserve what we have for the generations to come.

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  10. Amazing! Kids can get enthusiastic with their casting, not a bad job for her. Good job!

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