So I took Isaac fishing for the first time yesterday. A little background - he turned four in March and got a Spiderman fishing pole for his birthday from me - mainly because if I didn't hurry up and get it for him his Papa(Sonya's Dad) would have. Isaac has been practicing with his pole in the back yard for almost three months and was ready to go. He's been looking forward to this trip for quite some time, and so have I.
So this weekend we were in Walla Walla, WA and they have a park that has a Juvenile Pond Jefferson Pond for 15 and under to fish at. It's only a mile away from the grandparents house so that was our first stop. We arrived and were the only ones there. We got all our gear on - I put my vest on so that when he caught something I could easily get to it and help him. Isaac had on his Fishing Hat, his Cowboy boots and his Spiderman life vest that we bought to go with his fishing pole. We bought the life vest because if theres one thing my boys are good at it's lack of balance - walking becomes an issue if they get distracted... I didn't need him falling in the pond/river and not being able to get to him in time. Anyway, we got the plastic fish off his line that he had been practicing with - I explained the details and let him pick out his first hook. He threw it in a few times and it went about 5 feet - then he started remembering what he had practiced and I realized we'd have to go to the bigger side of the pond. (theres a little island in the middle so one side is kind of small.) We went to the other side and spent about the next 15 min or so just casting - he did so well and had quite a bit of fun. He did fall in what looked to be a snake hole once right on the bank and got his boot all wet - but he didn't complain and we kept going. After about thirty min of being there though he got distracted and couldn't take it anymore because at this pond they also have a really cool park and he wanted to go play. So not wanting him to have a bad experience his first time out we went and played in the park. Then went across the street to McDonald's and had a quick breakfast.
Then the important question came and it changed my whole day - I asked if he wanted to go back to Nanna's house or if he wanted to try and fish again. He wanted to fish - I was so excited, but I wanted to fish too. So we took a little trip to Mcdowll road(I think that's the name) They have a bridge there and we parked and went right under the bridge- it was really a fast river there so we went down stream a little bit and found a rock beach that was perfect for a little boy. I did have to carry him over the water a little but that was kind of cool too. He only snagged a few times but did really well. He was casting about half way into the river. It was moving too quick and we didn't have any success there but he was having fun. We stayed there for an hour or so and then got back in the car. He had so much fun.
About half way back though was when I realized that I made a little mistake and that he still has a lot to learn. I asked him if he liked it - he started to smile and then said, "But dad... we didn't catch anything..." and that's when the tears came. Now I'll admit that my boy is a little dramatic and emotional - I'll blame that on his mother - but this I really felt bad for. I thought really fast - I couldn't let his whole day be ruined because he didn't catch anything. I've been fishing a couple dozen times - I still have yet to catch anything more than "trash fish" as my father in law calls them. But anyway for Isaac this was a big deal - so I did what any responsible dad would do...
Thank you DQ for saving what ended up being a great day. I love being a dad and seeing Isaac out there enjoying something like that with me was really special.
