It's the little things

Last weekend I took the opportunity to do something I haven’t in . . . I can’t remember when. I fished. At a small lake about 10 miles from my in-laws I was re-acquainted with that age-old pass time that comes with the cycle of casting, untangling, getting frustrated, occasionally taking a poke from the hook and, yes, even catching a small crappie, bluegill or bass every so often.

While I seem to remember drinking was a part of that process the last time with a rod and reel in my hand, I thought it best not to include it this go-around, as I was taking on the role of instructor for the boys.

Fishing with a five-year-old and a three-year-old is certainly an interesting time. Michael, the older, had been out a couple times before so he was pretty familiar with the drill. Though, after that first hour and having caught a couple fish he was ready to be done with it, which resulted in his wanting to catch underwater vegetation rather than wait for another bite.

I also now know more than I ever wanted to about dragonflies thanks to a barrage of questions and the always-handy Internet for the answers.

My younger boy, Mason, had an interesting approach to his first time out fishing. Taking what he could from his older brother, he thought it was as easy as yelling “I got one!” and reeling as fast as he could about five seconds after the line was cast. This is where the untangling part of the cycle comes in, as I waded out several times to get the line out of cattails, sticks and, of course, other lines.

Into our third hour, we decided it was just too dang hot out there and packed it in, with plans to head back out in the evening. Unfortunately, a rainstorm brought that to a standstill so we opted for a movie instead — cue another question and answer session.

Though we didn’t catch as many as we wanted, and those we did were too small to keep, the fishing expedition helped remind me that sometimes it just takes something simple to make a memorable day. We’re already planning the next outing, and have gotten some advice on spots to fish along Owl Creek and in the Bighorns.

Mike wants something he can either put on the wall or cook.