The Girls Are Angling For a New Hobby

I took the girls fishing this morning.  Daniel and Elise met us at a pond nearby and we spent a couple of hours getting to know the girls' new gear and getting close to nature.  Mia had absolutely no idea what to expect.  It was all new to her.  Kennedy has apparently been fishing before, though I'm not entirely sure who she fished with.  I can't tell if she went with her teachers and friends at the big home or if it was with her "grandfather."  She has spent enough time fishing that she told me today that Chinese fish are "not smart."  American fish don't get caught immediately, but it seems that Chinese fish wait in line to jump on the hook.  This may or may not be true, but I thought that it was an entertaining conversation.

This was really a pretty cool day for me.  My dad loved to fish and I never really spent much time fishing with him after I turned 10 or so.  After he died, it was one of the things that I have regretted most.  I wish that I'd bought a pole sooner and taken him to the closest fishing hole.  So, when the girls started asking to go fishing it seemed like a great idea.  I kept a lot of my dad's old gear and his tackle box.  We used some of his hooks this morning as a matter of fact.  It's one way that I can keep my dad's memory fresh, even though it's been almost nine years since I saw him last.  I can imagine him telling me..."it's about time, son."

Mia caught the big fish this morning.  The picture of her prize-winning crappie is a couple of posts down.  It was maybe a pound or so, but it was a fighter.

I took lots of pictures of Kennedy.  Mia had finally had enough fishing by the time I pulled out the camera.  She made it over two hours, though, which has to be some kind of record.

Beautiful day for fishing



Batter up!




Let it fly




Concentration

  For the record, Elise had the quote of the day when she declared for everyone to hear:  "I'm good at nature."