Far too few weeknights like this

N. RIDGEVILLE, OH – We finally had a warm enough evening that the ‘stir crazy’ kids and I could get out of the house and do some fishing.  A weeknight fishing trip always means just enough time to fish in the pond or a local park, but that’s good enough!  The kids hadn’t fished since Fall, so they were especially excited.  Dad was pretty excited too, fishing memories are some of the best!

This gem was the “take a picture with your sister” directive

My daughter likes to fish and is willing, but my son always loves to tell her she will get pricked by a fish if she catches it.  This usually ends with her not wanting to fish and Bryce having to do some time disciplined with no fishing.  His goal is to have her stop fishing so he can manage more rods or get all of the attention.  Pretty much a jerk move, but I suppose that overly strong desire to catch the fish, and fishing selfishness – came from me.

She loves her dolls and babies, but has her rugged side too

As for my firstborn, he is a ‘mini me’.  He loves fishing and never wears out from it.  I suppose the only real difference between him and I is that I am sad when it’s time to stop fishing, but usually I am not reduced to crying or tears.  Please note I said “usually”.

The first evening fishing and the Bluegill were biting non-stop

As with most parents, you lower the expectations of any family endeavor to just hoping the kids get along and aren’t fighting the whole time.  Happily, this was one of those times where it was magical.  Both kids happy, and Bluegill that were hitting as fast as the bobber landed.  We ended up fishing with a single rod because we could not manage more than one.

Bryce admiring his first catch of the year

Not only were the fish biting, they were decent sized

A gnarly looking bonus catch

Fish after fish, I dare say we wore out catch and releasing Bluegill.  Towards the end we did get rewarded with a hard fighting bonus fish, a Bullhead that finally took the jig and maggot faster than a Bluegill could snatch it.  I’m thrilled Bryce thinks they look cool, instead of ugly.  I’m trying to raise a fisherman that appreciates all of the species like his dad does.  As for my daughter,  I’m pretty sure at this point she thinks all fish are ugly, but at least she thinks they are fun to catch.  Overall, a very fun time this evening, we have “Far too few weeknights like this”.