Memories

Bella and her prized 10" bluegill



Recently I was reading another blog that I have come to enjoy, "The Average Joe Fisherman."  One post I was reading was about words of wisdom from a father to his son and this got me thinking about a recent fishing trip I had with my father this past summer.  We spent the day fishing a reservoir where he first taught my brother, sister, and I how to fish when I was young.  There were countless summer evenings when he would come home from work and we would all quickly finish dinner head out to get some worms then on to the lake to fish until the sun went down. He spent many hours helping all of us to bait our hooks, take fish off the lines or help my brother untangle his lines from the surrounding trees. It's a wonder my Dad ever had time to get his line wet before it was time to go.  But in the moments in between he always was there to give advice and little pearls of wisdom on subjects beyond fishing.  When I look back at those long ago summer evenings I find they are some of my fondest memories.  When we went fishing on that same lake this past August we talked about those memories and what my family was up to lately.  Even today, at my age, he still has  advice that I could profit from.  When I got back home I felt a little sad knowing that I can't fish with him as often as I used to but I now have the opportunity to make those memories with my kids.  Bella is only 4 1/2 and her attention span to fish with daddy is limited (notice the bike helmet in the picture above) but I'm laying the foundation for what I hope will be fond memories for her someday.  As she gets older I hope that I can give to her and her sister what my dad gave to his children, not just a pastime and ability to fish, but good memories and strong family connections that will last a lifetime for them as well as me and Claudia.  By the way she was using daddy's tenkara rod and a #8 black wooly bugger.  Wouldn't you know, that bluegill was larger than any I caught in that pond this year.  Maybe she can give me some advice!