What an awesome day.....I'm sitting here, tired as hell, a little wind burnt, sneezing my ass off and eyes slightly itchy but, man oh man, was it worth it.
Spring break here, until today, was anything but. Cold and overcast all week I was starting to get irritated because I really wanted to take the kids on at least one good fishing trip before baseball/softball season started. If I didn't get it done now I may not have another opportunity until July or August.
I tried to take them yesterday but thirty nine degrees and windy turned the outing into an absolute suck fest. Shivering and totally miserable, we left the little farm pond dejected. Not one single nibble.
And this morning didn't show a whole lot of promise either. The clouds were gone but it was still just thirty five degrees. My brother Tony, who was planning on going with us, talked it over with me and we came to the conclusion that maybe we should wait until this afternoon when it was supposed to be around seventy degrees. Yeah, right....It hasn't been seventy all week. I'll believe it when I see it.
I couldn't tell you if it hit seventy, but by the afternoon it got warm enough to ditch the blue jeans and put on a pair of shorts. And despite the twenty five mile per hour winds I was beginning to feel slightly optimistic about my chances of getting the kids a good day of fishing.
"The wind is blowing out of the south," Tony said, "That's promising."
I took his word for it. As much as I love to fish I'm really not that good at it.
Tony reminds me a lot of granddad; short, barrel chested and strong as an ox. Also like granddad he will say things that I don't always understand but will at least give it a try because, after all, it SEEMS to make sense.
Tony is studying the small farm pond that Toby, Tera, and I struck out on just the day before. Then he nods his head; his way of showing that he is done assessing the situation.
"Well," he says, "I have always heard that early in the fishing season when the water is still cold it's best to fish in the northwest corner."
"I don't even know where that is," I tell him. I don't know why but I have no sense of direction. If you were to drop me in the middle of some strange field, tell me to head west and find my way home......There will be a search party out looking for me the following day because it will never happen. A pathfinder I am not.
"Over there," Tony points, "That's the part of the pond that the sun hits first, so it will warm up the fastest."
Tony starts to head that way and I think to myself, "You know, sometimes it's like granddad never left."
But then I remember that my little brother is the same guy that text me a picture of his poop.
"I call this one here.........the crocodile......Roar!!!"
Oh my God, I'm going to throw up.......
No, I don't think Granddad would do that.
Not wanting to be accused of cherry picking I set the kids up on the opposite bank; where I was planning on setting up in the first place. It's my firm belief that if a man has picked out a spot to fish, unless there is no other alternative, you don't go and plant yourself right next to him. I mean, if you happen to land a hawg cherry picking another fisherman I guarantee he will be praying to the fishing gods that you get struck by lightning. Twice if said hawg happens to be a record breaker.
So I'm setting the kids up (I don't have a pole because I broke it pulling it out of the attic) with what I think would give them the best chance of catching a fish on a windy day in March. Thinking that the water is cold and the fish will be sluggish I felt that a slow moving jig or plastic worm would be our best option.
As I'm tying a jig onto Tera's pole I hear Toby ask his Uncle what he was going to use.
"Oh, just a little Mepps spinnerbait. I think the fish will go after it when the sun reflects off the spinner."
Five minutes later the kids let out a groan of envy as Uncle Tony lands the first fish of the day. Perhaps a couple of pounds.....Not a bad start.
"Let's keep it." Toby says, "I want to have a fish fry."
"Alright," Tony nods, "But you're gonna have to catch a lot more than this."
Five minutes later Tony lands another one --- bigger than the last. The kids are in awe.
Meanwhile, Tera is getting pissed. I haven't taken her out fishing as much as I would like and she is having a hard time casting her bait. She doesn't let off the trigger soon enough and she proceeds to pile drive the bait into the water not two feet in front of her.
PLOONK..... "Dang it."
PLOONK..... "Darn it....."
PLOONK...... "DAMN IT, DAD!!!! I NEED A NEW LURE; THIS ONE ISN'T WORKING!!!!!"
Whatever you say there, Princess Potty Mouth.
Up to this point neither of the kids has even gotten a nibble. So I man up and face the fact that my line of thinking isn't worth a hill of beans. I pull out a Mepps Aglia spinner and tie it on to Tera's pole. It's a size 2 with a spinner that looks like the side of a rainbow trout.
I no sooner finish tying the spinner when Tony lands number three. Tera tenses up, pulls back on the rod and buries the treble hook into my hand.
"AHHH.....WAIT!!!"
"Oh....Sorry." But I don't think Tera is really sorry. Her words weren't exactly dripping with sincerity.
Tera makes her way over to the next bank over from Uncle Tony. He had just caught number four and was heading for the stringer when Tera finally got on the board.
"Woo hoo!!!!!" And it's a keeper.
Big brother, still fishless, shows his support and continues to fish.
A couple of casts later Tera lands another one --- and it would end up being the biggest catch of the day:
"Great job, pumpkin!!!! Do you want to have your picture taken with it?"
"YES!!!!!"
"Do you want me to show you how to hold it?"
"NOOOO!!!!"
So I held up Tera's catch while Toby took the picture.
After the pic, Tera continued to catch fish. But supportive big brother disappeared. Now after every catch Tera would beam and Toby could be heard yelling, "Man, what the hell?"
It probably would have been better had Toby not asked, "What the hell" because Tera began to rub it in. After she caught her next fish she looked at Toby and started singing, "It's the best day ever!!!!"
Toby: "Shut up."
Tera; "Bwah ha ha!!! I'm on FIE-YAH!!!!"
After Tera hooked her fifth fish Tony and I, now just sitting on the bank and enjoying the day, decided Toby could be tortured no longer.
"Hey, Tera, why don't you trade poles with Toby for a few casts?"
"WHAAAT? Pfft.....Fine, whatever."
Not five minutes after they switched poles, Toby finally landed his first fish:
Now Tera will loudly go out of her way to proudly point out that Toby's fish is MUCH smaller than hers. But Toby didn't care, he caught his fish.....He could now leave the pond happy.
By the way, Toby is laughing in this picture because right before it was taken Tera screamed out, "YOU'RE WELCOME!!!! NOW GIVE ME MY POLE BACK!!!"
Tony and I had been sitting on the bank for about an hour just watching the kids have a good time. The one of many things that Tony and I have in common is that we are all about the kids. If our kids are happy, then we are happy. The only thing that would have made this day complete was if I would have remember to bring a couple of beers with me.
"It's a good day." said Tony
"Yup...It is."
"Dude, you're the only one that hasn't caught a fish. Take my pole and give it a few casts."
"Nah, I'm alright."
"No," Tony insisted, "Go get a fish."
He really didn't have to twist. I eagerly grabbed the pole and took a spot on the bank.
A few casts later I set the hook -- but I wasn't smiling.
"Ah, shit."
I did not want to pull this fish in. I knew that the very instant everyone saw it I would catch all out hell. I reeled it in as slow as I could hoping it would get off.
Unfortunately:
By the way, Toby is laughing in this picture because right before it was taken Tera screamed out, "YOU'RE WELCOME!!!! NOW GIVE ME MY POLE BACK!!!"
Tony and I had been sitting on the bank for about an hour just watching the kids have a good time. The one of many things that Tony and I have in common is that we are all about the kids. If our kids are happy, then we are happy. The only thing that would have made this day complete was if I would have remember to bring a couple of beers with me.
"It's a good day." said Tony
"Yup...It is."
"Dude, you're the only one that hasn't caught a fish. Take my pole and give it a few casts."
"Nah, I'm alright."
"No," Tony insisted, "Go get a fish."
He really didn't have to twist. I eagerly grabbed the pole and took a spot on the bank.
A few casts later I set the hook -- but I wasn't smiling.
"Ah, shit."
I did not want to pull this fish in. I knew that the very instant everyone saw it I would catch all out hell. I reeled it in as slow as I could hoping it would get off.
Unfortunately:
"Dad, give me your phone. We got to have a picture."
"Shit......Whatever...."
Toby took about forty freaking photos in rapid fire succession.
"Dammit, son. How many freaking pictures do you need?"
"Got to get all the angles," Toby said as he laughed, "He's so tiny and cute......We shall name him Pablo."
"Man, shut up and get me the pliers."
Having egg on my face I was determined to land a bass. It didn't have to be a lunker, just a bass.
But, my next catch was another F^%$(*& blue gill. As Tony and the kids gave me hell I began to wonder what ancient fishing god I had offended in a previous life.
"AAAARRRGGHHH!!!! Ok, this is it. If I don't catch a bass this time I'm freaking done!!!!"
Sonofabitch:
There is no justice in this world. Tony proceeded to tell me that if he were to compare my fishing skills to beer I would be Natural Light --- You can drink a lot of them, but the quality isn't worth a damn.
By the time we left the pond Tony was calling my Natty.......
Dammit, next trip....Next trip.
But what really mattered was that the kids were happy. At then end of the day we had a good haul:
Back at Tony's house Toby happily filleted the fish while Tera, no longer afraid to grab a bass by the bottom lip, brought them over for him to clean. It will be a nice little fish fry.
Thank God the weather cooperated and thank God Uncle Tony was there to help the kids actually catch something. I can't wait to do it again.....
Now, it's time to drag my tired ass to the shower......and then off to bed.
What a great day.
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