First Fishing Trip

Today, we were invited to Wabasso Causeway Park to celebrate a birthday and do some fishing. Andrew had never really fished before. I say "really" because that thing he did in Snohomish, Washington doesn't count as fishing in my book.

When we lived in Bothell, we used to go to a fall festival in Snohomish. It was a great festival, held on a farm, with corn fields, pumpkin patches, and lots of fun things for the kids to do. They even had a fishing hole. The fishing hole was actually a large pool full of small trout. The kids were given a bamboo pole with a short string and a hook on the end. The parents put a tiny egg on the hook, then the kids dipped the line in the water. A moment later, one of the thousands of trout would grab the hook. Like magic, your kid just caught a fish! The kids loved it, but that's not fishing.

Back to today's story. Andrew was very excited about going fishing today. We stopped at Dick's Sporting Goods last night to find a fishing rod for him. Of course, he wanted me to get one for myself, too. We found a nice two pack complete with two rods and reels and an assortment of hooks, lures, and bobbers. Andrew was so excited about them that he wanted to open them in the car! Somehow, we convinced him that that wasn't a good idea. At home, he opened the package and was soon pulling the little plastic sinker - the thing that keeps the line from being lost in the reel - around the living room and reeling it back in.

This morning, Andrew's excitement ramped up another notch. Sometimes we pretend that our bed is a boat, bouncing along in the ocean. This morning, Andrew was on the boat with his fishing rod. Before long, he had the rod buried in blankets, completely hidden from view. Then he pulled the little sinker out the bottom of the covers, across the floor, and into the bathroom. I pretended it was a bug and tried to step on it. Meanwhile Andrew, completely hidden under the blankets, secretly reeled it in across the floor and into the bed.

After breakfast, we were on our way south. Andrew played with the rods in the car the entire way. Luckily, they are short, and in two pieces, so they didn't interfere with my driving. We arrived at the park and quickly set up both rods. I tied on a lure and bobber for Andrew and a plain hook and bobber for myself. I gave Andrew a quick casting lesson and set him loose. The birthday boy's parents had raw shrimp available for bait. I ripped the head off one and skewered it onto my hook. A couple minutes later, I had a small catfish on my line.

Andrew was very excited, but I could that tell he was also a bit jealous. He was ready to catch a fish of his own. Before long, he started getting frustrated by his inability to cast out far enough into the river. He was convinced that my rod was better. I showed him that his could cast far, too. Then he decided that the lure was the problem. I removed his lure and replaced it with a plain hook. Based on my own prior luck, I put a shrimp head on Andrew's hook and cast it out for him. Within minutes, Andrew had a small catfish of his own!

Andrew is quite the little competitive bugger. I'm convinced that he wanted to beat dad and catch another fish. After a couple nibbles and lost shrimp heads, he had another catfish on the line. He brought it all the way to the shore before it slipped away. No problem. Before long, he had his second fish on the line. This time, he successfully landed it and officially took the title of the best fisherman.

We had a great time at the river. I'm curious to see how long it is before he asks to go fishing again.

After cake, we had another amazing moment. A dolphin entered our little cove in search of lunch. It came along the shore, no more than 50 feet out. We could see it twist and turn as fish jumped out of the water in an effort to escape being eaten. As one fish jumped, the dolphin followed it, completely leaving the water, before diving back into the water in hot pursuit. Awesome! Unfortunately, I didn't capture that moment on 'film'.