My son just turned two late June. He has always been fascinated by everything that has to do with fish. He sleeps with a stuffed 'bow, has fed the tarpon in the Keys, and every time he sees one, it's always "ISH!" I have let him "play" with my reels, and have taken him to the park to look for fish in the ponds, etc. I asked him if he wanted to go fish. The look on his face when he said "yes," was all a father ever needs to see. So I took him to a local park to see of we could fool a bluegill or two.
As he ate a snack and watched, I rigged up my rod and off we were. I hadn't taken two steps before I heard "Dada, hold it." He carried the rod 100 yards to the pond. Something about a 3' tall boy confidently carrying a 9' rod to the pond.
We only fished about 10 minutes, but it was worth every second. I would cast out the hopper, and he would hold the rod by himself concentrating on the bug. We ended up catching one bluegill (I helped him bring it in). I asked him if he wanted to touch it, and obviously, he said "yeah," smiling the whole time. Immediately after the release, "more, more, more."
The ride home was nothing but "Dada, more 'ishing, more 'ishing...." while playing with a spare reel I had in my truck. I assured him that was absolutely going to happen.
The best part...when I was putting him to bed, I asked what his favorite part of the day was, and he said without hesitation, "Dada, 'ishing."
Pic from Wednesday.
