A son’s first fish

The sun is shining and a happy boy is going fishing!

For avid fisherman that happen to be dads, I don’t know if there is a more exciting event than watching your child go fishing for the first time.  I was anxious to have Bryce catch his first fish, but did want him to be old enough to know and appreciate what he was doing.  I also wanted him to be able to take some simple instruction and actually feel like he was the one doing the work to catch the fish.  My hope was that this would make it even more enjoyable and I do know at 2 1/2 years old, he is quite proud when he can do something himself.  For once, I was correct on all accounts, and the evening was perfect.

Bryce revered the fishing pole like a medieval knight’s sword

The venue for our first fishing adventure was the pond behind our new home.  It’s stocked with Largemouth Bass and Bluegill and figured this would be a ‘fail proof’ option for a short attention span and the possibility of not catching.  The only real concern was slowing him down as he was so excited I thought he was going to nose dive straight into the water.  I somehow managed to convince him that if he didn’t hold my hand and stay with me, we wouldn’t go fishing.  Although patience comes hard for a youngster, he did manage to settle down long enough for me to bait a hook and help him with his first cast.  After the bobber hit the water, it took all of a couple seconds…

Fish on!  Look at that bend, C’mon Spiderman Pole, don’t fail us!

Sorry PETA, that fish stood no chance.  Bryce beaches the ‘monster’ fish!

The thrill of victory!

Examining the prize

As all fisherman know, catching one fish means we caught ten

The evening was as near perfect as I could have imagined.  He enjoyed fishing and with each fish caught, he wanted to catch another.  A couple times the Bluegill he was fighting would get inhaled by a bass, which got daddy excited, but I did manage curb my own urge to fish.  There will be plenty of time for me to chase those, and this was far too special of an evening to miss any of the joy Bryce was having.  As I sat in the grass watching him catch fish on our own property, with my beautiful wife snapping photos, all I could think is how blessed and thankful I am.  I pray everyone could have the happiness I felt tonight, life is good!