per·i·pa·tet·ic
ˌperēpəˈtedik/
adjective
  1. 1.
    traveling from place to place, especially working or based in various places for relatively short periods.
    "the peripatetic nature of military life"
    synonyms:nomadic, itinerant, traveling, wandering, roving, roaming, migrant,migratory, unsettled
    "I could never get used to her peripatetic lifestyle"
  2. 2.
    Aristotelian.
noun
  1. 1.
    a person who travels from place to place.
  2. 2.
    an Aristotelian philosopher.

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Teach a Grandson to Fish and Get Hooked on His Lines!




Walk2Write and I head to the far reaches of the western Florida panhandle for another much anticipated weekend at home. Son, grandson Micah, and I plan a fishing trip for Saturday morning. For me and the better half to get our weekend fix of the grandson, we offer to keep him for a while Friday afternoon. During our time together, Micah finds out it is my birthday next weekend and immediately proclaims, “Grandpa! I know what I want for your birthday! I want a party barge with brownies and cupcakes and lots of fish everywhere!” Who knows where he came up with that concept, but it sounds like a good deal to me.



Saturday morning, I meet son and grandson at our usual boat launch, where a nearby meandering tributary of the Escambia River flows into the bay. For the first hour, we do only fishing and no catching (my normal modus operandi). Finally Micah convinces his dad to bait his Diego fishing pole (a kiddie pole about two feet long with four pound test line) with a stiff, long-dead minnow, one of many saved by Micah from a previous fishing trip, and bagged in a zip-lock baggie as a precious commodity. After a few minutes of trolling, the pole jerks a few times and Micah starts reeling it in as quickly as his little hands can create a repetitive, circular motion. He cranks and cranks on the tiny reel, and within less than a minute we spot a giant redfish on the end of his line. It takes out line a couple times, but amazingly he hangs onto the pole and continues cranking. We see the fish about three feet from the boat; it’s large, estimated 22-27 inches (the fish, not the boat). The net is readied by son, and we think this river monster is destined for the frying pan just before the 4-pound-test line breaks. Grandpa and son are more disappointed than grandson. Micah just smiles and exhales a big “Whew!”





Another dead minnow is acquired from Micah’s zip-lock treasure bag and baited on a jig head. Son rigs the tempting morsel on a sturdier grown-up pole, equipped with 40 # braided line and 30# mono-leader. Within a few minutes of trolling, the pole starts its up-and-down dance and Micah tries to pull in the fish but can’t handle the larger rig. Grandpa takes over the task with grandson’s robust approval, and within a minute or so a 22+ inch redfish is ours for the keeping. After landing the catch, Micah excitedly exclaims “Grandpa we had teamwork!” and we give each other a high five. A few more nice size speckled trout are landed, but the redfish have gone back to sleep; no one is disappointed, especially grandpa.



Micah looks up at the sky and says, “Grandpa! I see a dolphin in the sky. Do you see it?” I scan the shapes formed by the clouds, but have to honestly reply that I really don’t. Micah says, “I can see his face!” I have to think we may have a little artist on our hands. The clouds dissipate, but Micah’s enthusiasm doesn’t.

After a long period of trolling, Micah puts his Diego pole down on the bow of our little plastic boat. Son uses his fatherly voice and says, “Micah, put it back in the rod holder. A fish could pull it right out of the boat and into the water.”

Micah matter-of-factly states, “No Daddy, they’re not so strong.”

Son reiterates with a little more emphasis, “Micah, put it in the rod holder. A fish could pull it in.”
“No daddy, they’re not so strong.”

“Micah, do it now! You don’t know what size fish you might get. It might be small or a really big and strong one that can pull your pole in the water.”

“No, they aren’t so strong, daddy.”

Grandpa interrupts the dialogue and addresses son, “You know that you are getting payback." Son looks puzzled.

“What do you mean, payback?”

“I mean, your three-year old son already knows more than you do. Sound familiar?” Son just grins.






Back at the ranch (house), Peanut enjoys a peek and a sniff at the catch-of-the-day. Can we keep it? From the way she licks at it, you'd think she's either made a new friend...or developed a taste for sushi. Paws up and step away from the fish, cat!

18 comments:

  1. Oh, what a fantastic fishing trip! I am having such fun with my youg grandkids too...they make everything new and amazing, don't they??? This was a really wonderful story...thanks for sharing SAM!!! You guys did good!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Micah sounds adorable. And I love these pictures. What a great family you have.

    ReplyDelete
  3. You have a fisherman in the making there SAM! A very good thing as any fisherman knows. What a great looking fish!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Look like good fun for the whole family, maybe not as much fun for the fish. Micah is a cutie. My son got into fishing recently while hiking. Fresh fish is tasty.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Love your header!

    Up here we drill a hole in the ice and stick a hook and line thru it:) Farther north in Wisconsin and Minnesota they put portable shacks over the holes in the ice. Do you think we are in desperate need of psychiatric help? I do.

    Enjoyed seeing the refreshing greens of Florida. I can almost smell that fish:)
    Marnie

    ReplyDelete
  6. Lovely pictures and narrative. You all sure had a great day. The fish looks like something one would have as a pet. You see why I would make a bad fisherman? LOL..

    ReplyDelete
  7. Those are looking like mighty fine red fish. Just a little jealous...

    ReplyDelete
  8. I've never been fishing before but it looks like your family is having a great deal of fun.

    ReplyDelete
  9. My brothers eat and breathe fishing.
    Yet my Dad hates it.
    Not sure where they got it from

    Cute story! I think Peanut is adorable.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Thanks, everyone, for the lovely comments. SAM will stop by here later on to comment.

    Regarding the fish and its destiny, I thought you should know that SAM saved you all from my plan to add a video here. It's really instructive. If you've never filleted a fish but always wanted to know how to do it quickly and easily, SAM's the man to help you learn. I might post it on YouTube with a warning: Don't watch at dinnertime.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Here is my fishing philosophy for the day - I suppose that fishing with the guys is my way of momentarily slowing the fast-flowing river of the world around. We all reside in the main channel and the flow carries us along by forces we don't control. But, it's nice to take time to slow down and enjoy the eddies of the backwaters.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Sounds like such a wonderful day! I'm sure Micah's eyes lit up when he caught that large redfish. I don't fish, but spending time with a grandchild in any setting is always a special time. Hope Peanut didn't make off with your dinner:)

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hi SAM .. you sure know how to entice the reader in to Micah's fishing stories .. isn't he a great guy .. boy will he have tales to tell. I hope he'll be as good a cook as he is fisherman .. deliciosa food coming up!

    Sounds a glorious time was had by one and all - happy weekend .. Hilary

    ReplyDelete
  14. What a wonderful story. I love to fish. I envy you your location this of the year.

    My son had one of those small rods too. Caught a huge large mouth Bass--almost as big as him. We still have pictures of the proud grin and holding up his trophy. And yes, it was good. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  15. Sounds like tons of fun! Micah sounds like a terrific kid!! :)

    ReplyDelete
  16. I saw you in my followers and thought I'd come by to say hello. I like your style of writing very much. I'm adding you to my reader.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Ha ha , I like that ..... your three-year old son already knows more than you do. Sound familiar?”

    ReplyDelete
  18. Such a sweet story to remember for years to come. Fisherman, artist, ah, the titles are endless for the little man....

    ReplyDelete