So... as a child (don't worry I'll make this part short)... I always wanted to be out catching the monster fish. I lived in Illinois, Missouri, and other places that would have been great fishing options. Unfortunately, I never had much opportunity. Rather, the adults around apparently didn't have the time. I'd stomp around creeks and the like catching crawdads and frogs and what not. But it wasn't the catch I was looking for....
Fast forward many many years. At 33 years old, my wife and I decide to get some cheapo fishing poles for the kids and give fishing a try. And of course, when the poles come, this bright idea suddenly becomes an expectation. And all eyes turn my way.
"Dad... You're a Daddy. This means you obviously know everything about fishing and we all turn to you seeking your wisdom."
Crap.
So after hooking my self about four times trying to remember how these neat "hook" things work, I figure I'm ready to take the family to the local pond stocked by the city.
Lesson #1: Know your fellow Anglers.
Now, pre-school kids aren't exactly the most ideal Anglers. They tend to be rather frightening. And with me being relatively self diagnosed with OCD in regards to keeping the kids safe (hyper sensitive sometimes ain't enough of a description), I figure, the fishing line can't kill my youngest littlest all that quick. But a hook? No way. He gets a silly little fish toy stuck on the end of his line. Moving on.
My oldest, getting ready for Jr. High, she must be capable of such feats, like Fishing! Sweet, one less person to worry about. Thanks sweetheart!
And then there is my middle child. The one who is probably the most excited. Now, in elementary school, feeling as big as the world it self. He's completely confident that all of his study watching the Discovery Channel and The Learning Channel has taught him how to be an expert Angler. He wants his pole, a hook, and a worm and he knows he'll be pulling out a River Monster in no time.
<sigh>
Now, you should know, both my boys, the youngest of my personal army are both diagnosed with High Functioning Autism. I can only assume that the average non-autistic person looks at a fishing pole and says, "hook, told it can rip my face off, must be cautious.". Well with elementary school boy, not exactly the first thought on his mind. And the OCD kicks in. I can hardly watch his first attempt to cast with a hook and I quickly take over the role of "Caster". Then he shows is professional capabilities in reeling in a cast. Another role I decide I may be better suited for. Between nearly hooking the back of his skull on casts and then nearly launching a hook into his eyeball, I've had about all I can take.
Lesson #2: Don't take the newly adopted dog with you...
Now, if the midget army wasn't challenging enough, (a shout out to the wife with thanks of handling the littlest one), we have our new Collie/Lab/Something mix of a dog with us. This is the 40lb dog with the bark of a doberman and the pull on a leash of a Rot... "Bad dog BAD DOOOoooooooooooo...g...." as this little mut walks/drags you. And of course, being a rescued super happy dog, when we take him places he can hardly contain himself. Smell this, smell that, "Mom! Did you smell this!?!?! That's crazy!", "Dad Dad! I think another dog was here! Hold on! I wanna say hi!" <sssssssssss>...
Didn't know the dog would be so... energetic. Not a good choice in fishing buddy for the first fishing trip. Great... Bad Dog. <ruff!>
Lesson #3: Pay attention to the weather.
At this point, we've been out fishing really for only about 45 minutes to an hour. Mom and I have had enough. With sparks starting to fly between Mother and Fathers patients, it's time to go home. As Dorthy's house flies by. Ok so that's an exaggeration, but at this point, any wind is annoying and it was able to push around my boys a bit. So with tempers high, patience low, an extremely windy day was not exactly what we were looking for.
Pack up, it's time to go home!
Now... In the moment, that day sucked. Looking back, that day did still kind of suck but its also a great memory in the since of, "This is us, my family, we were here." Makes me thankful that our new dog left his mark for all to smell. Kind of wish I would have left a mark to. Then again, the day may have ended much worse than it really did and the memory may not have been quite so fond. Unless my hypothetical cell mate "Luke" was a fellow Angler who would rather swap stories instead of "experiences".
So in the end, a random excursion into taking the kids fishing has turned into a huge new interest of mine. After several posts to various forums, commenting on my experiences, and my wife prodding me to turn my adventures into a blog, here I am.
Over the years, up until this point, I hadn't put a lot of thought into fishing. I don't often drift back to when I wanted to fish as a child. The adventure I saw in it. I guess it's true, you never know what the future has to offer and where this path in life will lead you... huh...
Product Reference:
Basically what we were using when we had the kids out. Though ours were still a bit cheaper, in price, and quality. ;-p
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