"You want to go fishing?" I ask, to which I receive a big show stopping "Yes," from two cheery and happy little voices; my daughter and son, Cedar and Fraser. We send the invite to Cedar’s playschool friend Rae, and her mom Danielle who also say "yes", and quickly, we have a crew together. We pack toys, butterfly nets, snacks, camp chairs, and even fishing gear, plus the required change of clothes that must stay in the vehicle at all times so the little ones have something dry for the trip home. With that, we are off to the river for a day of play and outdoor fun.
Kids and water go great together
We get to the river and the first order of business is to chase butterflies, which we do quite well, catching several until the urge to be at the river is more than the joy of catching one more butterfly. We load up Sherpa dad, Sherpa mom, and honorary Sherpa Danielle and we head to the river. We pick a pool that is close, and the kids are cut loose. They splash, play, build things with rocks, play with sticks, throw dew worms into the river, find frogs, drift around in the water, and pretend to be mud skippers. I toss out a couple lines. On the end is a hook, a weight, and a worm.
The actual fishing is way down the list of importance
Mom, dad, and Danielle all keep an eye on our little ones. The day is filled with laughter, shrieks, giggles, and running around in a way that only little ones can. At some point a rod starts to jiggle, then shake, then bounce wildly up and down. It’s a fish and we all run over. Rae reels it in. We cheer her on and soon a beautiful mooneye is resting near shore for everyone to check out, hold, and feel. Soon the fish is released, snacks are eaten and everyone the age of 5 and under are fully engaged in splashing around like a fish. The excitement is maintained. We catch another fish, have more snacks, then a look to the watch shows it’s getting close to bedtime.
Rae is on it, and lands a goldeye
Rae is on it, and lands a goldeye
We round up our soaked and happy little kittens, and mudpuppies, and herd them back to the truck, where a dry set of clothes are waiting. We get underway and shortly, the absence of noise has me look in the mirror.
They’re pros already
Two happy little adventurers are sound asleep in their booster seats. It’s been a great day of ‘fishing’ at the river.