Ethan with his first bass of the spring |
After looking through a few recent posts from Cameron Mortenson of the famed Fiberglass Manifesto I had to get after it! And I'm happy to say I finally did it. It took a lot of time to get there, but I
did it.
I finally got the kids out fishing this spring – YES!
In fact, I was able to spend a little time with them on two
separate occasions for some really great warm water fishing.
Last week after my son’s baseball practice we had a little
time before work so we hit up a local pond to see what was swimming.
The pond looked great and there were fish everywhere in the
shallows. Even the bigger bass were easy to spot - Fish that my boys referred
to as “2 footers.” And even though they did not get to hook into any of those
fish, they did manage to hook and land plenty of large bluegill and a small
largemouth or two.
Jonathan with one of many sunfish and bluegill for him |
Our next adventure landed all three kids and myself at one
of our favorite warm water destinations – Black Creek. This is the place where
all my kids have had plenty of great fly fishing successes in the past, and today
would be no different.
My oldest son quickly went to work with his five weight
custom JP Ross fly rod and landed the first fish of the day – a gorgeous
smallmouth bass which by the looks of it, had been feeding rather recently.
The other two had their spin cast rods working in overdrive –
sending lures flying everywhere. It’s amazing that they don’t get snagged more
often than they do. But the excitement that comes with tossing lures changed
after Jonathan’s next fish.
Jonathan with a fine Black Creek smallie |
While I was working with the two younger kids (most likely
untangling lines) Jonathan had moved to another spot just downstream from a
father and son who had been catching some very nice fish while using shiners
for bait. He began to fish his streamer upstream and jig it back down next to
shore. He soon got a fish to respond but after a quick head shake or two it was
off. He raised his line to check the fly and discovered he had been bitten off –
PIKE! I searched through my bag for some
heavier tippet and another fly. Ten pound test was all I had, and that would
have to work. After re-rigging his line he went back at it. Within the next few
minutes he managed to hook up again and this time he won out. And even better,
he landed his first ever pike on a fly!
Jonathan holds his first ever fly caught pike |
That was it! The other two now wanted a fly rod of their
own. So back to the car we went. After a few minutes of re-rigging two more
rods, we headed down stream. Again Jonathan hooks up first, and when he said “trout!”
I had to ask again what he said, as I have never seen a trout in this warm
water stream. And sure enough it was a brown trout. But as he was working it up
close to shore, it pulled free.
Katie ended up rounding out the day with nice little
smallmouth bass of her own before she and Ethan decided they had had enough and
began to play in the water.
Jonathan and I fished a little more but found no other willing
fish so we called it a day and headed home. What a great day!
Katie with her smallie |
I am constantly amazed by my kids, and their ability to try new things, including fly fishing. And I'm so glad that they enjoy being out there with Dad, tossing flies at fish. I feel truly blessed!
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