The 14th annual Potawatomi Fishing Derby exceeded all attendance records. Many families enjoyed the excellent weather during this Saturday’s event around the big pond. My husband, daughter and three of my grandchildren entered the derby, while I worked the tent and drove around on the gater, selling a record number of hot dogs, chips and pop to hungry participants. Prizes were awarded by age group for the following categories: bass, rough, pan fish and catfish.
My friend’s son is 7 years old and has the fishing bug, bad. His parents are not interested in fishing or teaching him to fish. His mother asked me on a number of occasions if we would take the boy with us sometime so he could learn. They arrived at the derby early and set up on the bank next to my family, not recognizing each other.
Cal did his best, but had caught nothing when I passed them on the gater selling dogs. I told his mom to ask the “Bass Master” for help and pointed to my husband. He baited Cal up with an earthworm and put him on a bobber. In a short time, he pulled in a nice catfish that was the winner for his age group. My husband agreed to filet the cat and sent the meal home with Cal.
Filleting a fish can be a messy business. Cal’s mom was making icky faces. I took her aside, and said this is the time when you cover your own fears and share in your son’s excitement. She went back and said “Hey, that’s cool!” with a smile on her face. Both mom and son learned fishing lessons that day. We received a lovely card from his mother. The catch made the boy’s year!
Follow this link to see an article in the South Bend Tribune that tells another story of a young boy who had a caterpillar land on his shoulder and how that bait and a few prayers caught him a record fish at the derby.
South Bend Tribune article – Tight Lines and Good Times
My daughter also won in two categories, with a 23 inch carp and a 7 inch bluegill. My four year old grandson caught a turtle. My husband got skunked, but lived vicariously through the kids.
Happy fishing!
That is so awsome how the different generations of your family can enjoy fishing together.
My husband and my Father In Law both hunt. They taught my daughter to hunt when she was younger, and are in the process of getting my 10 and 12 year old nephews ready to start this year.
The kids have to take a hunter education class before they are allowed to hunt, and that class starts tomorrow. Both the boys seemed very scared to go alone, so I told them that I had not gone yet and would take it with them. They suddenly became very excited about class.
Comment by kjamrozy — September 15, 2006 @ 8:02 pm |
John is still talking about his turtle.
Thanks Mom.
Tell “A” I said congrats.
son boy
Comment by largemouth — September 18, 2006 @ 12:36 am |
Ever since I was a little kid, I hated fishing. But I love eating fish, go figure! Haha.
I’ve never tried fileting fish, but I did do a taxidermy project in my high school Animal Science class, in which I gutted a 3-foot salmon, stuffed it, and mounted it on a plank of wood. It was quite an interesting process and while I don’t particularly care to do it again, I don’t regret the learning experience.
Nonetheless, I do love fish, as pets. I used to have a pirahna but unfortunately I had to get rid of him when I moved to St. Joseph County because they are illegal.
Comment by cinnamonspider — September 18, 2006 @ 9:04 pm |
Comments on Comments:
Dear cinnamonspider:
I normally practice catch and release for anything but panfish. I love to eat bluegill and crappie, so I take those home for supper. I also keep fish as pets and used to breed cichlids. The taxidery project sounded cool. It’s really an art to mount a fish properly.
This article was a hoot and might help explain why you dislike fishing, and how you might learn to enjoy the experience.
http://www.fishingfury.com/get-girls-fishing-a-how-to-guide-for-men/
What happened to the pirahna?
Dear kjamrozy,
Hunter safety classes sound interesting. What minimum age do you have to be to participate? With education, your kids won’t be curious if they find a gun at a neighbors house, and they will be taught how to handle one safely.
Comment by love2fish — September 19, 2006 @ 10:26 pm |
Very nice fishing blog.I was searching for some info and i found it.Thanks for sharing
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