and sorry if I am hijacking the thread. I wrote this to go along with the pic above for a local newsletter, and it got published. This is just to point out that you never know where the good time will come from.
Daddy, I think I have a fish
Websters defines Bing as:
(n) A type of cherry
(pn) Mr. Crosby
To a certain 3 year old I know, my son, bing is a verb (v) the act of casting a fishing pole.
As in "Watch me daddy Im gonna bing it out real far."
Several days ago (July 4th weekend) the afore mentioned 3
year old, his parents and Uncle Brad took a trip to Portsmouth Island.
As most you folks know, a young child and a fishing pole is not necessarily a good combination. You need a weight to cast the thing and hooks have barb you know. So that all being said and since this was not his first trip to Portsmouth, his mother and I knew we could not get away that "Snoopy Pole" again. So, off to the local sporting goods store we went to get the standard first fishing pole of many generations of fisherman, the Zebco combo and off to the beach we went.
For the first day and a half we got away with a barbless hook and a plastic grub. Late on the second day my son, Drake, comes up to me and says, Daddy, I dont think the fish like this worm, I want some real bait. After having this work for a day and a half I could hardly refuse such a reasonable request. I went to the bait cooler and sliced off a small piece of spot and put it on the hook. Drake went over to a tidal pool, that was pretty deep and still connected to the ocean, and binged it into the water. Now, I am an avid fisherman and have spent many hours happily fishing, recently I have also spent more time than I care to, hearing the phrase Daddy, I think I have a fish. I had become accustomed to just saying just reel in the pole Drake. This time I was to learn a lesson. Drake was VERY insistent about the fish and let me know,
DADDY, I THINK I HAVE A FISH!
OK, so I turn around and after one look at him I knew I was wrong, bad daddy! After a small struggle we got the fish in and I swear the whole crew watching had never seen a happier person in their lives. In that small tidal pool with a barbless hook and on the first cast, Drake pulled out a beautiful 14 puppy drum. Oh and that really happy person was me! Someone was kind enough to take some pictures (thanks a million Susan & Steve). After the pictures, Drake said he wanted to let the fish go because it may have babies at home, so off into the surf went the fish.
I am not sure where I heard it first, but I think it was Frank White (The Southern Sportsman) who said, do yourself a favor, take a kid fishing. After this past weekend I have to agree.
Drake, thanks for letting me be a part of this experience.
P.S. To anyone that thinks about getting upset, the beer is mine.
