Teach a kid to fish....

I have been thinking lately that the kids are getting old enough to go fishing. To be fair, they both had an opportunity to fish in the pond behind my Mom's house when we were living with her a couple of years ago. However, Liam was so little, it really didn't hold his attention and Elizabeth was far more interested in squeezing the little bait minnows in her hands until they were quite pulpy (can anyone say Lenny?).

So, today at Target, I bought the kids their own cheapo fishing poles thinking maybe we would go down to one of our little lakes sometime and throw in a line, or that having the poles might give the kids something to do if we were out camping.

The kids had a different idea... the brand new fishing poles were all they could talk about, and I knew I was not going to hear the end of it if we didn't at least go try them out today. I was able to talk a reluctant, hard-working husband into a little early evening trip to the "fishing hole". So, I packed us a lite dinner and we stopped at the market for some bait (night crawlers - yuk! and some fluorescent glittering marshmallows that are apparently supposed to taste like shrimp, okay - as long as they don't end up in MY hot chocolate).

We set up at one of the little lake "fingers" where they have installed little shelters with picnic tables, actually a very nice set up. Robert managed to get the worm on Elizabeth's hook along with a bobber and some weights. He cast it in for her and gave her instructions to sit and watch the bobber. I was still setting up the chairs and getting drinks so I didn't take any photos, and I didn't have anything but my camera phone with me anyway because of course I forgot the regular camera at home.

Robert hadn't even had time to pick up Liam's pole to start setting it up for him, when Elizabeth yells out. We look over and her bobber is going crazy. Robert tells her to yank on it and start pulling it in. Can you believe what my 5 year old daughter pulls out of the lake after 3 minutes...

It had to be about 5 pounds of beautiful rainbow trout. The line was cutting into my fingers as I was trying to get her to hold it up so I could take a picture. Of course, she got all girly and scared on me and wouldn't get near it.

We had every intention of playing catch and release, after all I do not eat fish, and I would rather not cook it either. But the poor girl had swallowed the hook good and was losing eggs all over the place. Robert said we had to take it, because it wasn't going to live if we put it back in the water.

So, I had to take all of our dinner stuff out of the cooler so we could put this fish in it. Blech! And wouldn't you know it, we didn't reel in another fish for the rest of the hour we spent there.

The kids had a great time though, they both cried when we had to leave, and as they were getting in bed tonight they kept asking when we get to go fishing again. Robert even admitted that he had fun, even though it was more work then he bargained for, especially after he had to come home and gut the fish so he could freeze it and take it to work tomorrow to give it to someone who will eat it.