I saw a Barbie fishing pole at Target and I knew Natalie would love it.  I am willing to try almost anything to get my daughter interested in the stuff I’m interested in: skiing, fishing, basketball.  I am constantly asking people I meet how they got their kids into different activities, how they got into fishing, who taught them how to play ball, where they learned to ski.  I love to do all those things but it is becoming increasingly difficult to take time out to do them.  There just aren’t enough hours in the day to do all that I want to do.  How can I make it happen?

One way is to bring the kids along.  If I bring Natalie fishing, I feel a lot better about spending time away from my wife and our baby son.  There is always a bit of guilt when I am spending a day by myself.  But part of that guilt is me growing as a father and a husband; I truly don’t want to be by myself because I want to be with my wife and our kids.  I’m much happier with them than without.  That is personal growth because I haven’t always felt that way.  When we first had Natalie, I felt trapped and I wanted to get out and do stuff away from my family.  I’m slowly becoming a better dad.

I bought the pink and pastel green Barbie fishing pole.  It comes with a lime green fish-shaped casting plug.  I tie the fake little green fish to the line and practice casting in the living room.  Natalie chases the fish while I reel furiously.  I don’t let her play with the fishing pole too much before the trip; she might get tired of it and not think it is special.  (Novelty is good only when used properly.)

Before we go fishing, I packed a goodie bag with enough stuff to keep her occupied for maybe half an hour.  Hopefully, she’ll enjoy the trip but the stuff is the icing on the cake, a little flash to keep her interested and excited.  I’m pretty realistic; I know that a bag of fruit snacks will last about three minutes and too much juice will lead to a premature bathroom break.  If I gradually dole out my bag of tricks, I figure we can get at least a couple hours of fishing in.

I’ve picked my time and carefully scouted out my location: Lafayette Reservoir.  We leave right after her nap and before dinner.  We will miss the heat of the noonday sun and be off the water before the sun sets and before it gets too cold.  Fishing is no fun when you’re freezing- unless you’re catching fish like wildfire. I’ve got it all worked out:

• 15 minutes to drive there and
• 15 minutes back.
• 15 minutes to walk to the docks
• 15 minutes back to the car

Fish for two hours, which means we will away for three hours.

We’ll be fishing one of the little L-docks where I’ve consistently caught small perch and bass.  I want Natalie to catch something and I pray we get lucky but I never know what is going to happen.  That’s why I am prepared with the goodie bag!  I also bring sunscreen, my tackle box, a net, backpack, cell phone, camera, the pink Barbie pole and two fishing poles for me (just in case one breaks or gets snagged).

Even though I brought all that stuff, I forgot my fishing license at home.  I don’t realize it until I park and by then I don’t want to waste time and drive home.  We walk down to the marina area.  I buy a temporary license at the concession stand so I don’t get a $250 ticket for fishing without a license.  I also bought live earthworms because Natalie isn’t squeamish and she should get a kick out of seeing them squirm.  One time, after I fished by myself, I showed her my leftover worms and she liked them.  I’m not sure if she will like watching them getting sliced in half, then impaled by a gold hook.  Only one way to find out.

At first, Natalie just wants to keep the fake little green fishy on her pole.  I convince her that she can get a real fish if I put a hook and a worm on.  She gives in.  And I’m in luck; Natalie doesn’t mind watching me prepare the worms. (I cut ‘em in half and push the hook in the writhing body several times, leaving one end of the worm to flop around.) 

I rig her Barbie pole first and let her cast it wherever she wants.  I’m pretty sure the perch are almost straight down, so she should be fine.  I quickly rig up my trout rod and cast it in.

I end up catching several 4 inch perch and offer to let Natalie reel.  She shakes her head; she wants to use her pole, not mine.  She misses a couple hits because she doesn’t understand how to set the hook.  You have to reel up the slack, then quickly raise the rod tip so the line pulls the hook. 

I rebait and she casts out again.  She finally gets one and I help Natalie reel it in.  I keep the rod tip up so there is constant pressure on the line and she cranks the handle.  When it comes in, she is happy but not ecstatic; it doesn’t mean that much to her.  It was pretty easy.  Hmm.  What else can I do?

I put another worm on and offer it to her.  She doesn’t even want to toss it in and is more interested in feeding the ducks on the other side.  [I learned later that you’re not supposed to feed the ducks.  Oops.] I cast her line and put her rod down on the pier.  *sigh*

I give her some crackers and warn her not to fall in.  Actually, I asked Natalie if she wanted to go swimming.  She tells me no, so I ask her again with a forced smile, “Are you sure? Ok, then you need to be careful that you don’t fall in the water.”  She nods in agreement. What a great kid! Another fisherman joins us on the pier and we chat for a few minutes.  His name is Joe. 

I tell Joe I forgot my license and bought a temp.  Joe tells me he’s done the exact same thing but now if he forgets, he just risks the ticket.  Apparently, if you get a ticket and you have a license, it isn’t a $250 fine.  Joe says that if you can show the judge that you had purchased a license before you got a ticket so you only pay a $15 court fee.  Now that is a great fishing tip!

Suddenly, the line on Natalie’s pink Barbie fishing pole is angling out to deep water.  Something bigger has grabbed her bait and is swimming away!  I grab her rod to prevent it from getting pulled into the drink and set the hook.  Got him!  I start to reel him up, but he’s fighting.

I’m scared, because I don’t know whether the line is going to hold or not.  I pull the fish in and carefully walk to my net.  The fish swims under the chain holding the dock and the line bends around it.  Frantic, I back away.  Joe grabs my net while I reel.  Joe does a great job and nets the fish on the first pass!

It turns out to be a pound and a half rainbow trout.  It is a beauty. Rainbow trout are shiny with pink and green shading. They have tiny black dots in intricate patterns. We stay for a few more minutes, then head home. I thank Joe for his help and wish him luck.  Natalie is very proud of her fish.  Even though I totally took over and didn’t even give her a chance to reel it up, she knows it is her fish because it was caught on her pole.  The hook is deep in the trout so I leave it in.  I know it will be messy if I try to take it out and I’m not scaring Natalie with messy.  We take it home.

I open the door and see Tammy across the house.  Sprawled on the couch with our newborn son Sean, she looks tired.  Natalie yells and says she has a surprise so Tammy calls her over.  I feel like it is the scene from the Calvin and Hobbes cartoon that my mom has on her fridge: Natalie brings the trout over to Tammy and Tammy is not happy.  Like Calvin’s mom!  She is grouchy and wants me to get that stinky fish out of our house. She is exhausted and not in the mood to even look at the trout, not to mention cooking it.

I am crestfallen, chagrinned, sad and disappointed.  I don’t even see how Natalie takes it.  I bring the fish over to the Mertens, two doors down.  Brian answers the door and he is very grateful for the fresh fish.  I proudly tell him that Natalie caught it and that my wife doesn’t want to deal with cooking a fish with a newborn.  I warn Brian that the hook is still in the fish and that he should be careful that he doesn’t get poked.  He thanks me and later he returned my hook.