One of Those Days

Today was the day.  Sophie's first fishing trip as a five year old.  The last time I took her, she was not quite four.  The pole was too unwieldy for her then, and she preferred gathering rocks and doing sidewalk chalk on that trip.  Today was a whole different story.  My girl came to fish, and fish she did!

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I have been fishing for pretty much my whole life.  It's what my family did together for many, many weekends and summers. I've caught snapper, grouper and triggerfish in the Gulf of Mexico, salmon in Alaska, trout in Utah, and a zillion different species of fish in Virginia.  I've used squid, crickets, worms, powerbait, popping bugs and artificial lures.  My favorite fishing, though, is searching out the easygoing sunnies as they linger around the shoreline.  Using a lazy old cane pole with a rubber spider.  Whether your catch turns up the size of a bandaid or as hefty as a cornish game hen, these bluegill tend to put up a nice fight. Another bonus, they usually pop off the hook easily to be sent back to swim with their friends.

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Sophie chose a brown and black spider for her rig.  I donned a yellow one.  We fished with just one pole for the first five minutes or so, then she was anxious to do it herself.  Wiggling the bug along in the water was quickly mastered.  Casting was a bit more difficult. There weren't many overhanging trees or people to snag, though, so I let her learn her favorite way- trial and error.  No one was injured, but there were a couple of hilarious close calls.

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After about 30 minutes, I caught one small fish.  We could see tons of them, though, and that kept us hopeful.  In 90+ degree weather, around high noon, we decided to take a break in the shade.  Nothing like something cold and sweet to cool you down! 

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I was amazed at my child's patience and tenacity today.  Despite being clumsy with a new skill, despite the heaviness of the pole, despite the lack of fish being caught, despite the heat, she never complained.  She never wanted to quit.  She never asked how much longer we were going to stay. After five long years of seeing only a mini-me of my husband, I was treated today to a glimpse of myself in my daughter.  Not that I am the queen of patience, but when it comes to fishing, I just love the possibility and the mystery - and the certainty that I'll have a great time whether I catch anything or not.  Not everyone feels this way about fishing.

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About an hour and a half into our trip, I looked over at that budding fisherwoman and my pride made me dig my camera out of my pocket to try to capture the look of intensity on her face.  As soon as I clicked my shot, she yelled, "I caught a fish!!!  I caught a fish!!!"  Sure enough, I ran over and there was the little guy right on the dock.  All by herself, she caught a fish.  And that's what she kept saying over and over, to anyone close to within earshot. 

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Only when I got home and looked at the pictures did I realize that I had captured the exact moment of that fish being caught!  He's hard to see in the photo above, so here is a zoomed shot for you!!

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So, yeah.  Of the hundreds of fishing days I've had, this one ranks right up there.  Number one, I'd say.  One of those days that won't soon be forgotten.  If ever.