3 DAYS AND 200 WORMS
It was a very special week for Dixie and I. Our three girls rented a house on a lake in central Texas so most of our family could help us celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary. It was a fun filled week of celebration, family, and lots of fishing.
Most of you know that I am all about teaching kids to fish. Doesn’t matter what age they are. As long as they can hold a fishing rod they should be able to fish. In this case we had grandkids whose ages ranged from 3 years to 12 years old. And it’s safe to say every one of them was absolutely crazy about fishing. No, strike that…they are crazy about catching!
We arrived at the lake house late Monday. Just as we opened the truck doors we were surrounded by 5 grandkids, our three daughters, one son-in-law, one significant other, and 2 golden retrievers. As soon as the initial hello’s and hugs were exchanged we heard, “Grandpa, can we go fishing?”
Well, yes and no. We’d arrived too late for the bait shop to be open, so I unloaded the tackle boxes, rods, reels, bait buckets, etc. and took them down to the dock. It was like the pied piper leading a procession as 5 grandkids, one son-in-law, Steve (significant other), and 2 out of three daughters followed in my steps.
We rigged everything up just as each grandkid showed off their very own spin cast outfit recently bought for them by their parents.
If you’re going to teach kids to fish we always recommend you start with a spin cast. It’s practically “goof-proof” and fairly safe given it’s being wielded by a young, enthusiastic novice. The issue we had that evening was no bait. No problem. We did have hot dogs and, at least for that evening, they would suffice.
After a few bluegill were hauled in from around the dock that evening’s fishing session was necessarily short given the three girl’s plans, but I promised to hit the bait shop early the next morning for the requisite worms, minnows, and whatever else they were hitting on this time of year.
By the time I got back from the bait shop the next morning all were up and soon after breakfast I had all 5 grandkids down on the dock ready to get some bait and get fishing.
Here’s the thing about kids: They’re not too fond of putting slimy worms on hooks; nor very good at it. So you can guess who’s the official “baiter”, right? That would be me. The other thing kids struggle with is setting the hook. That leads to more baiting. So in the course of that morning we went through 4 dozen night crawlers and about a dozen and a half minnows. Never mind how many lures we lost due to (and I’m being kind here) inaccurate casts.
But having said all this, the kids were having a wonderful time catching loads of bluegill. And like I said earlier, with kids it’s all about catching as much as it is fishing!
Well, long story short, in the three days we were at the lake we went through almost 20 dozen worms and I don’t know how many minnows. But it was a small price to pay for getting 5 of our grandkids reintroduced to fishing. And best of all, each and every one of them had a blast and absolutely loved fishing.
I’m pretty sure you can guess who baited almost every hook with those 20 dozen worms. And, as a way of eliciting a bit more sympathy, keep in mind that we cut those plump night crawlers in 3 or 4 pieces each. But it was a small price to pay for making sure these 5 kiddos will carry this enthusiasm for fishing with them for the rest of their life.
Next trip? I think we’ll work on baiting your own hook, taking fish off the line, and teaching one and all that slack line leads to line knots, kinks, and less fishing time!
This week we have a fantastic finale to our 4 part labor day sale. You won’t want to miss these limited time prices!
Thanks to all of our great friends and customers who have supported us and passed our name on to their friends. We know we are only here by making sure your needs are our first and only priority. Please let me know if we ever fail to meet and exceed your expectations.
Tight Lines,
Tom Ashby
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