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Got a late start this morning, picked up my boy at 9 a.m. and decided to give Spencer a try; all the gear was already in the car, and it was only a few miles from his moms' place.

Got lines in the water by 9:30 at the wdfw access, and after 15 minutes of hearing "daddy I got a fish!" I hear "daddy I really have a fish!" Scrappy 9" planter makes it's way onto the stringer. Got a few nibbles after that over the next hour or so,, but hot sun, shallow water seemed like it was going to be one of "those days".

Mother nature made a call, so I instructed James to hold onto his pole and stay put. Ran to the loo, and on the way back he is yelling at the top of his lungs about a big fish. Putting it down as an excited 5 year old catching more fish after what must have seemed a lifetime for him (he is very hyper!) I yelled back to reel it in. "But it's a really big fish daddy!"

Ok, to him it probably is a big deal, but when I got about 20 feet away and heard his drag screaming and his line flashing back and forth in front of him, I realized this was no little planter that had found a snack.

Tried to get the camcorder on my phone to catch the excitement, but I must have hit the wrong button accidentally. 2 seconds worth of a big splash was all I got. :(

He finally dragged it up on the beach. Nice fat rainbow, just a hair over 20 inches, and when I got it home it was 3 lbs 7 oz. Not sure who was more excited, him or me. Last time I caught a trout that size, was about 40 years ago when I was his age. Needless to say, he was a happy camper, and the pics will make for some great memories.

That was it for the day, however. A couple more nibbles after that, but they just weren't playing nice, and we packed it up around 1:00 to head home for some lunch.

Gave this day a 5 simply because of the shear size of the fish compared to what he is used to seeing, and the memories made.

Larry3215

5/22/2014 10:09:00 PM

That smile on his face make it worth it for sure :)

afk

5/23/2014 7:06:00 AM

Way to go DAD!! Thanks for the pics.

DavidA

5/23/2014 9:47:00 AM

Well I think I'm older than both of you combined and I've never caught a rainbow that size! Congrats to you both. Him for getting it in, a significant part of which seems to have been on his own, and you for making the effort to do stuff like this with him. I know it is its own reward, and many very good parents never make such an effort, so this above and beyond is special. No doubt this day will be a memory from his childhood that lasts. Some of my strongest are fishing with my dad.

gonnahookit

5/23/2014 12:12:00 PM

Thanks guys, it was definitely a lasting memory kind of day for both of us.

The funny thing is that we both caught similar sized fished, under nearly identical circumstances separated by 4 decades. I had been fishing on a small square float tied to the shore and my dad had gone off to 'take care of business'. He had returned just in time to wade out to the float and carry me to the shore so I could drag the fish up on the beach. Yesterday, James nearly fell face first in the water because the fish was pulling so hard when he tried to get up out of his chair. I had to grab him and carry him back far enough so he could then drag the fish up.

The events of that day 40 years ago were mostly gone from memory, aside from a few small details. It is amazing that after yesterdays adventures, all those little details came flooding back to mind, almost like they had just happened.

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