We were all rookies once. I vaguely remember the first time I did some things and vividly remember others. Some momentous like becoming a father or buying a home. Others were smaller but still impactful like catching my first Muskie or being whisked away in a float plane to spend a week at a remote lake.
This summer I had the pleasure of being a part of another’s rookie experience. We had been invited up to the family cottage weekend and my older daughter and husband would join us. Chatting with them leading up to the trip and my son in law Spencer asked, “should I get a fishing license”? I didn’t know Spencer to be a fisherman so I was someone excited when I said, “If you want to fish, yes you do”. He got his license, I told him I would make sure to bring an extra rod and that he was welcome to use my lures or Molly’s Molly's Post
I ended up arriving to the cottage later than everyone else (pesky job!). As I unpacked the truck, everyone else was in cottage mode. Mishelle and Mikaleigh were prepping for dinner and Spencer, Ryan and Molly were about to take an invigorating swim (read cold, cold swim). We all reconvened at the cottage for an awesome meal together looking across the lake. As soon as dinner was done, I was ready for a few casts at the dock. I asked if anyone wanted to come and Spencer literally jumped up and said I am in.
I wrote about my love of dock fishing and my Father In Law’s cottage has a great one Dock Fishing Over the years we have caught pike, bass, walleye and tons of panfish. I quickly strung together 3 rods, 1 for Molly, 1 for Spencer and 1 for me. Molly and Spencer were going to use worms under a float, and I was casting a Silver Minnow hoping to entice a pike. As we made a few casts dusk rolled in quick. It was incredible, a cool wind was keeping the bugs away, the air smelled of pine trees and campfires.
Since Spencer had never really fished before I gave him a quick tutorial on casting, explained what to watch for and how to set the hook. It really hit me as I tried to explain it all, I talk a lot! Seriously though I was a bit surprised about how much I enjoyed showing Spencer the ropes. I barely fished myself and wasn’t unhappy about it. There was something very rewarding about sharing my knowledge of fishing with a keen audience. Watching him and Molly move around the dock, casting, laughing and being a little competitive. Or at least Molly was, what can I say the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree!
Just as we were about to wrap it up Spencer shouted “I got something” before I could turn around, I could hear drag sizzling. Honestly my first thought was that he had snagged on something but as I went to assess the situation a large fish launched itself out of the air and splashed down behind the ski boat! Sweet! There was a slight problem though, between the fish and the dock was large ski boat and a paddle boat. As the fish came closer to the dock, I realized it was a pike. I patiently asked Spencer to try to walk the fish around the boat (for real, I was calm The Angry Net Man) Realizing that we could lose the fish, something that would be monumental for Spencer I asked him to jump into the boat and walk the fish to the front of the dock. That pike put on a show, he jumped a few more times, sizzled more drag and reeled of some thumping head shakes. As he finally rolled towards the front of the dock, I did a quick assessment of the hook up and just grabbed the line and quickly flipped the pike onto the dock!
As we took a picture of Spencer with his fish, I am not sure who was happier, him or I. Over the rest of the weekend we all fished off the dock and did an evening troll in a favourite bay of mine. Guess who caught a 15-inch walleye that night a rarity on the lake. You guessed it, the rookie. Sadly no picture was captured for a funny reason. I am not explaining it any further as I think I can squeeze a new post out of it...
I love to fish and spend time in the outdoors.It’s a big reason I built this site other than the fact that I am a bit of a show off and want to be a trillionaire! We all start somewhere My Origin Story . I have been lucky enough to introduce a few people to the things I love over the years Grasshopper and its maybe the best reward of all. So if I can get preachy for a second - maybe make a point this summer to introduce someone you know to the outdoors. Go for a hike, build a fort in the woods, paddle a kayak or canoe. My guess it will not only enrich their life but also yours.