Son’s First Fish of the Season
Saturday, June 2, 2012

One could not ask for a nicer day to go fishing or for a better opportunity to take someone fishing.

Objective: Help my son catch his first fish in a non-farm setting
Lake: Steel Lake
Fish Catching Potential: Pretty Darn Good

Earlier in the day, there was a fishing event for kids in which they enclosed the swimming area with a net and filled it with trout to maximize the opportunity for the kids to catch fish.

Although the event was over for some time before we arrived, I suspected that was still a very good chance that some of the trout would still be lingering around in the swimming area.

We arrived at the lake’s dock in the afternoon and found it to be hustling and bustling with angling activity. The one thing I observed was that most of the people were fishing away from the swimming area in the regular locations anglers normally target trout. I would have started by targeting areas much closer to the swimming area and dock. On the other hand, maybe they already have without success. Doh!

My son was due for sure. We had gone a few times earlier this season, but we just weren’t able to seal the deal.

I set up our fishing rods for still fishing with artificial trout bait, particularly Berkley’s Power Bait Dough and Power Eggs. We started with the dough.

Son’s Rig: 5’5” South Bend rod mated to a Zebco 33.
Dad’s Rig: 7’ Okuma Celilo light powered rod with a Rapala 6sxi spinning reel attached.


One of his classmates just happened to be fishing too and I think that was a great plus.

Shortly afterward, his buddy hooks into what would be his third trout. He caught it in the swimming area, which is where my son and I tossed our baits.

I was next to bat. As soon as I felt the nibble, I handed my rod to my son and he managed to bring in what would be his first fish. Well, sort of… As neat as this experience was for him, he believed it didn’t count because I handed him the rod. Good for him!

I started praying and hoping that he was going to catch a fish all on his own. We must have had some assistance from above because he finally did it. He said excitedly, “I got one!”

I turned in his direction and when I saw his rod twitch and the line move, I was glad my prayer was answered. We got that skunk off!

The bite for dough seemed to slow considerably so it was time to change tactics. My gut told me it was time to employ inline spinners. Despite encouraging him to also use an inline spinner, he chose to use power eggs.

Somewhere in between untangling line and conversing with other anglers, my inline spinner nails two trout in a short period of time. This prompted a number of other anglers to follow suit. Gotta go with the gut!

Just when I was about to switch to bass mode, we got the call to pick up mom and sis from the mall so we had to wrap it up.

So for me this was a very good day. We both got a serious monkey off of our backs and had a lot of fun in the process.
I am very proud of my son for persevering and being persistent with a pretty good attitude. He has certainly paid his dues. Many kids would have quit after going through the many trips without getting even one bite. At his age, I think I might have quit!

We caught four fish total. The first three trout were caught in the swimming area and the fourth one not even twenty feet from the dock. Gotta to go with the gut!

Objective: Accomplished!
Kid Condition: Stoked!
Dad's Joy: Priceless

-ib

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