Can't pass up offer to fish

Look grandpa, we caught a bluegill.

        Granddaughters Molly and Kennedy arrived for an overnight stay. Despite the hot summer evening, they were ready for some time outdoors.

The backyard deck had just been painted a couple hours before the girls arrived, so it needed to be avoided to provide more drying time before use by the girls and our dog, Missy.

I suggested a ride on the ATV (all terrain vehicle) and the girls enthusiastically endorsed the idea. Missy always is ready for a ride.

With the girls and an excited Missy safely on board we headed off to a small nearby lake. There is a shaded trail atop the dam, just right for a hot Saturday evening.

Missy loves the trail. She loves to walk or run  on her leash with the cart, stopping to sniff where other dogs and animals have explored. While she checks the woods side of the dam trail, I watch the water for bass and bluegill lounging or feeding along the dam. Polaroid sunglasses help in spotting fish.

On this trip, a young man and woman were fishing from the dam. That prompted an immediate response and question from granddaughter Molly. “Can we go fishing back at your house?”

“Well, maybe tomorrow, but I’ll have to get some bait. We probably can fish a while tomorrow,” I responded.

This grandfather has a built in positive response to grandchildren who want to fish.

We finished our ride and headed back to the house where grandma Phyllis and the girls had a plan for baking chocolate chip cookies.

The next morning, I hardly had the sleep out of my eyes before Molly again was asking about fishing. So, the next item on the agenda was a trip for bait. Red worms were selected as I figured they offered the best chance at producing some bites from bluegill and a chance to hook a fish.

We picked up the fishing bucket, rod and reel, and a chair from the mini-barn and walked down to the lake bank. The bucket contains some spare tackle, hand rags, knife and other fishing gear.

Grandpa needs a chair, but the girls are always to excited to sit.

While many girls may want to fish, they have no interest in get up close and personal with fishing worms. That’s not the case with Molly and Kennedy, especially Kennedy. At times they are very feminine young ladies, but both have no fear of handling the worms. In fact, they immediately wanted ot check them out.

We baited the hook, and rather quickly a nice bluegill became interested in the bait. I set the hook, and handed the rod to Kennedy who after a brief battle landed the fish. After a careful examination by both girls, the bluegill was returned to the lake.

Next, Molly landed a gill, and then Kennedy had another. First thing I knew, she was taking the fish off the hook. That’s aanother thing, many youngster would prefer not to do. 

We then heard a honking sound announcing the arrival of five Canada geese. They flew in and landed about 30 yards in front of us. It was a nice show for the girls.

We caught a couple more bluegill, and the girls became more interested in exploring the lake bank with its rocks and sticks than fish. That’s OK.

Fishing with youngsters should be simple and fun for the kids. It need not be a chore.

In this case, the girls had fun. It was obvious. But, grandpa had more.