I'm still giggling about this one. On Sunday morning of our Sylvan Lake trip, the state park rangers held a small fishing clinic for kids. We had our own fishing pole, but no hooks or bait. The rangers provided that and Zoe was ready for action and began fishing from the shore.
With no success, I offered to take her out in the kayak for some trolling. I don't claim to be even remotely close to a fisherman, but after seeing dozens of trout swimming & jumping, how hard could it be to catch one?
After "trolling" for 20-25 minutes with not a single bite, we decided to call it a day and head back into shore.
When we got about 30 feet away, something miraculous happened! No, it wasn't a tug of the line. It had nothing to do with our pole, hook, or bait. Lo & behold, we came upon an upside down, barely alive trout! Zoe immediately asked to pick it up, which was met with a firm "No" from me. I mean what good parent would let their kids pickup and fiddle with a dead fish.
Within seconds of passing it, I put the brakes on and turned the kayak around. Of course she needed to pick up and play with the dead fish. She earned that right by putting in the work of fishing and what better reward than to experience holding a real one! She was fascinated and proceeded to play with its eyeballs, mouth, and fins and I just knew she was going to ask if she could keep it.
We then concocted a plan to trick Tanya & Megan into thinking Zoe caught her first fish. We setup the perfect shot at the end of the dock complete with fishing pole in hand! The fish went back in the lake and we ran to the campsite with the camera in hand. Yes, we had to show proof of Zoe's "catch".
What a hoot it was to see Tanya's excitement followed by Zoe bursting out laughing and saying, "I tricked ya!" Tanya gave me plenty of questionable looks when she found out I let Zoe play with a dead fish. But in the end, she knew the memory of our trick and Zoe's excitement was well worth whatever germs she had coating her hands and fingers.
With no success, I offered to take her out in the kayak for some trolling. I don't claim to be even remotely close to a fisherman, but after seeing dozens of trout swimming & jumping, how hard could it be to catch one?
After "trolling" for 20-25 minutes with not a single bite, we decided to call it a day and head back into shore.
When we got about 30 feet away, something miraculous happened! No, it wasn't a tug of the line. It had nothing to do with our pole, hook, or bait. Lo & behold, we came upon an upside down, barely alive trout! Zoe immediately asked to pick it up, which was met with a firm "No" from me. I mean what good parent would let their kids pickup and fiddle with a dead fish.
Within seconds of passing it, I put the brakes on and turned the kayak around. Of course she needed to pick up and play with the dead fish. She earned that right by putting in the work of fishing and what better reward than to experience holding a real one! She was fascinated and proceeded to play with its eyeballs, mouth, and fins and I just knew she was going to ask if she could keep it.
We then concocted a plan to trick Tanya & Megan into thinking Zoe caught her first fish. We setup the perfect shot at the end of the dock complete with fishing pole in hand! The fish went back in the lake and we ran to the campsite with the camera in hand. Yes, we had to show proof of Zoe's "catch".
What a hoot it was to see Tanya's excitement followed by Zoe bursting out laughing and saying, "I tricked ya!" Tanya gave me plenty of questionable looks when she found out I let Zoe play with a dead fish. But in the end, she knew the memory of our trick and Zoe's excitement was well worth whatever germs she had coating her hands and fingers.
Very fun story!
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