Off Topic- Fishing with kids

[H.Frank Beshear]

In preparation for our annual Memorial day fish fry the girls and I have been over at my dads pond the last couple nights. We've been pulling in some serious bluegills (thats brim for those south of the Mason dixon :D ) 8-10 inches average and a couple were larger. My dad sits in the chair and laughs as he listens to the girls, and me. Dad I'm tangled up, eew I squished the worm, it swallowed the hook ect :) . Of course every once in a while one of us will hook into one of the large channel cats that swim around and thats fun for a short while. 4 lb test line and a 6-8 lb catfish usually means I'm retying. On the way home tonight Jess told how much fun she'd had the last couple nights. We have seen a couple beaver swimming in the pond, a baby muskrat,and a hen turkey that came down to drink last night. Lots of fun watching my dad interact with the girls, he had as much fun as we did probably more. We get sidetracked sometimes by things that really don't mean much. Its nice to remember what really matters in life. Have a great weekend everyone. We're having a fish fry on Saturday night with a few cold :beer: . Take care Frank

[vandeda]

Frank,

That is an awesome story! That is just so cool, and I'm so glad that you noticed too how much it meant to your girls (it seems so often people are overlooking what really matters anymore unfortunately).

I must say ... some of my fondest memories have been fishing trips with my dad (and brother some too). The best were the blue fishing trips, followed by our tuna fishing trips (the best memory was the look on my Dad's face when he hooked his first 100 lb tuna). On top of that was fishing trips on our boat and spending time at my grandmother's waterfront shore house in NJ (and you guessed it ... more fishing, but me, my dad and my uncle). Can you tell I used to do a lot of fishing? Mostly saltwater, I'm pretty clueless when it comes to freshwater. It's actually kinda depressing me a bit with memorial day around the corner .... I really miss those days.

Frank ... I hope you have many more experiences like this with your daughters, and that they too will have fond memories of these trips and the time you've spent with them. These types of experiences are priceless and worth more than anything we could ever buy our children! But soooooo many people have missed that point!

We get sidetracked sometimes by things that really don't mean much.

Yet they mean so much more than we ever imagined!

Take care Frank
Dan

[William]

Great story.

My grandfather passed away this past year and your story just brought back many years of memories of clam digging & fishing with him all over the Pacific Northwest. I always looked forward to going to their house to hang out with grandma & grandpa. When they lived on the Pacific coast we would go charter fishing and I caught my first King Salmon with him. Getting up at 4:00 a.m. to go down to the beach and go clam digging. Catching my limit and then coming home and helping clean them. Then Grandma would make fresh clam fritters for breakfast. :banana:
Trout fishing in the Cascades and eastern Washington. The last 15 to 20 years or so they lived in Manson Washington on Lake Chelan. I was great fun to put the boat in and drop a line and hang out and talk. Not that there is too much to catch in the lake but it was still fun anyway.

I haven't been fishing in quite a few years and I think it would be a great thing if I could start the same same sort of tradition with my own children. Nothing like dropping in a line, being out in nature, and bonding with your children. :)

Thanks Frank!

William