Can’t believe that I haven’t (or at least don’t recall a post about my youngest’s sons complete and total obsession with fishing. I don’t know if I have the words to completely describe this, but, I’ll try as we present the fishing photos from the Christmas trip
A very still day on the Boggy Bayou. Prime fishing? Who knows…..it’s a body of water with fish, and that’s all Matthew cares about.
I really don’t know where this sudden obsession (the onset was sudden, but, it’s no fad. He’s been going on for almost 18 months now with no sign of stopping. Today, for example, he reminded me that I said I would take him to the store to buy more fishing line) came from; watching fishing shows on TV? Who knows? I do know this, I know nothing about fishing. I can only recall going fishing once in my life, and that was with Uncle Jim when I couldn’t have been more than 7 or 8.
And that sucks for Matthew, because I can’t show him how to do things right and we stumble and fumble around when we do try and go fishing. I have no idea if we are there at the right time, if we are using the right bait, if we are setting the bait at the right depth…..so that’s led to some frustrating fishing moments for Matthew and me when we have gone.
Last summer (2010) I asked one of my friends from work to come out with the boys once or twice…..we caught some blue gill at the local pond and Matthew seems to have been instantly ‘hooked’ on this hobby.
Matthew on the dock at Lions Park…..
At this point, if I could go fishing with Matthew every day he would be the happiest boy alive. And I”m sorry, it’s just incredibly boring for me. But I promised the boy that we would go out while we were down in Florida. So, a trip to the store to buy a cheap rod; a trip to the bait store (I described this experience to my friend as me being in a bait store like being “an Amish man in Best Buy”) and picked up some frozen shrimp and worms (the helpful clerk opened up the worms and showed Matthew that hey were moving and of ‘high quality’).
Matthew caught nothing here. He caught nothing either time we came out. The guy who was out there with us the second day caught nothing either so don’t think it was a failing on our part (unlike other days in Michigan)….
Matthew’s best Christmas presents: a new portable rod with case; a new tackle box, a book showing lakes and rivers in central and southeastern Michigan.
Matthew’s present to me?
I need this book.
I think we’ve agreed that we’ll do more fishing this summer; rent a double kayak and he can fish off the front while I paddle from the back…..
