Looking Around the Next Corner: Taking kids fishing is fun... if you realize you won't actually be fishing

Once you have a child your hobbies and activities seem to change quite a bit. Now that I have two kids, I try to find hobbies that will be fun for the whole family. Fishing has always been a hobby I loved and one that I could incorporate with the whole family.

Last Saturday we headed off to Cherry Creek with a few poles, some fresh nightcrawlers, and some anxious kiddies. I set both the poles in the water and let the wife take first watch of the poles. Bella and I took her pole with some weight on the end and I left her "fish." By that I mean I would cast the line with no hook or bait into the water and she would slowly reel it in. 15 minutes later she was bored of reeling in moss. Dylan soon woke up and joined the party.

The first hour was great because I knew at 3 in the afternoon the fish wouldn't be biting anyway. Fishing with the kids wasn't an issue until the chance of actually catching the "big one" became more probable. We ended up moving to a different part of the beach out of the sun. Fair skinned Bella was showing signs of a sun burn pretty fast. We moved to the shade and I was about to recast the lines when Selena chimed in, "Why don't you let me cast?"

I calmly explained the simple facts:
a) You are a woman (just kidding... but seriously)
b) You don't know how to cast
c) We need to get this in the water ASAP or miss out on prime fishing time

She won and I took the hook off and let her practice with some weight. She did fairly well so I attached the hook. Distance wasn't an issue, it was casting straight. Seriously, every cast went 40 feet to the right. LITERALLY.

Soon the kids decided throwing sticks and sand clumps into the water was more fun than casting. Dylan found out that the spincast reel, if he pushed the button once simulating a cast, would allow him to grab the end of fishing line and run up and down the beach tangling every stick and rock in his path. Staying on the beach got boring so let's start getting wet. Our feet are wet so let's take off the shoes. By this time, slightly annoyed I still tried to keep cool. Then I saw socks floating in the water and Dylan smiling sheepishly shin deep in water.

I turned into my father during my childhood years. I can hear him now, "If you don't knock it off I'm going to pack up and we are going home!"

Selena quickly reminded me that my idea of fishing is NOT the same when the family joins me. She was right, I forgot to simply cherish the time. I was so stinking focused on landing a fish that I forgot to relax. It was getting cold anyway and we decided we should head home.

However, Selena being the amazing wife that she is, suggested I drop them off and head back out by myself and do some real "fishing!" So I went back for another 4 hours... and still didn't catch anything.

Next time!

Bella hanging out on shore