JovialJMan - The Joy of Fishing

"Is it me, or is the picture REALLY blue? I'm up too early for such bright colors..." -OddballGreg

Do you like sitting around, watching the ripples in the water and the grass grow while waiting for some unfortunately stupid creature to bite a metal hook you left in the water? If so, you probably enjoy fishing.

Yesterday I went fishing, (with my family), for the first time since I was 10 years old. I found out that it is really boring ... until someone catches a fish. Then it is game on as we all get into the competitive spirit of fishing.

This is the view from where we were fishing.

After we had arrived, the 3 kids (my brother Alex, my sister Anya, and myself) set up our fishing rods and cast them. We weren't able to throw them very far since we were still new to fishing, but after a few throws we could clear the dam. We didn't have a single bite for the first 2 hours, so I somewhat gave up for a bit and ate a few rolls that we had brought with for lunch.

There was also a very friendly lady there that was fly fishing whom my mom went to go speak to, and myself joining shortly after. She was explaining how to actually fly fish and offered to let me try. So, taking the very light rod, I gave it a swing but failed to cast the line. The lady explained how to do it by referencing 10 and 2 o' clock as how far my arm/rod should go. So I tried again and was far more successful for about 20 minutes doing that, until my sister wanted to try as well. While she was trying, my brother suddenly yelled out that he thought he had caught something.

As it turned out, my brother was the first to catch a fish that day, and the way he explained how it happened was; "I was reeling in one rod, then as it was just coming out of the water I look to the other rod. I saw the end of the rod going up and down (*indicating with an appropriate hand gesture*). As I started to reel it in I felt that something was nibbling on the other end, so I gave it a little tug. It tried to get away but failed, so I started to reel it in." The lady with the fly fishing rod came with a net and scooped it out of the water. My brother Alex them took a few pictures of it (see below), after which the fly fishing lady took the hook out of the fish and we let it go back into the water.

This is the fish in the net

Alex holding the fish he caught.

 After that, my sister Anya and myself decided we needed to catch one now as well. So I cast out a bit more hoping for the best while Anya went off to try a different spot while my brother just stayed where he was. Of course, my dad had a go at the fly fishing, after which Anya took the fly fishing rod again and, of course, she managed to catch one.

My dad trying to fly fish

Anya had this to say when it happened; "I took the fly fishing rod from my father, for my second attempt to do it right after learning how to fly fish and on my third throw in, I felt something tug on the line so I pulled as hard as I could. Then everyone around came to help me. The lady that let us use her rod came with the net to get the fish out of the water. My dad wanted me to hold the fish for a photo, but I really didn't want to. But in the commotion I grabbed the fish and it was really slimy. When suddenly it wiggled out of my hand and flop around on the ground. It managed to escape because it was really slippery and I didn't want to touch its's gills. I picked it up and my dad took the picture, (see below). Then the lady took the hook out of its mouth and I put it back into the water. It was the first fish I have ever caught."

Anya standing very far away from the fish she just caught.

She really doesn't want to touch it.

She finally allows my dad to take the picture.

She releases it back into the water.

Now this was where I was like " oh come on." I have to catch one. I cannot be the only one who hasn't caught one." So I tried a different bait, (a piece of fat from the chop I was eating at the time), and various different spots. After a while my brother took a rest so I used his rod as well. Despite the effort, my parents decided it was time to go after 40 minutes of not getting any bites. I was rather disappointed that I was unable to catch anything.

The day, however had been fairly awesome. I thoroughly enjoyed it, had a lot of fun and developed a fair bit of respect for those that fish frequently because they must have so much patience, but fly fishing is much more fun as you are not just waiting for something to bite, you are continually busy trying to coax a fish into biting, which makes it somewhat more interesting.

Anyways, if you liked my fishy tale, (see what I did there? Heehee), or would like to tell us about any of your fishing stories please do so in the comments down below, on Facebook or by tweeting us on the Twitter of the Tweeters. If you have any friends who are into fishing, please share the post with them as I am sure they will appreciate the fun of a beginners story. Of course, if you would like to read more posts as they are published or just want to show your support please like us on the official TCSA Facebook page and/or follow us on Twitter using the associated buttons on the bar to the left. Regardless of what you do, I hope you have/had a really good day, and I shall ramble again soon.

May patience be with you, my fellow readers.