Isaiah is out of school now and has been asking Grandpa to take him fishing, so Larry asked me to come along, we have taken Isaiah fishing before and he is a good kid.
They arrived about 7:30am and we loaded down Larry's SUV with chairs and ice chests, tackle boxes and fishing poles, thermos bottles and coffee cups, the orange five gallon Home Depot bucket and finally the fishing net we forgot on our last trip, a good fishing net is a necessity, even when you are chasing bunnies.
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| Jimmy fishing at Fulmore Lake |
Larry baited a hook for Isaiah and turned the fishing rod over to him, Zayah made a perfect cast, and luckily so did Larry, I was plugging with one of my lures and actually got a pretty good hit but never hooked the fish, things were looking good until the bugs started biting, and Zayah took off running down the shoreline playing in the water with the fishing net.
I found myself digging in my tackle box for my stashed can of "Deep Woods Off" I bought the dry spray that isn't supposed to be slimy, it should keep the biting flies and bugs off, it works pretty well, if you spray yourself down good with it.
But I'm here to tell you that if you close your eyes before you spray your own face and neck with it, and then can't see when you open your eyes, this is a clear indication that you forgot to take your glasses off first.
While I am cleaning my glasses, Zayah is running up and down the bank trying to catch the smaller fish, the fish were all too quick for him, I warned him to be careful because it is slick right at the edge due to the thick grass growing there, "Hey Zayah, you need to be careful, that grass is slick you don't want to fall in"
I suggested that he put the net away and go back to fishing, Larry spoke up "He's alright Jimmy, just let him keep himself busy" so I went back to fishing, I steered Zayah from in front of me while I was casting, and even went so far as putting my rod and reel away, and adding a lure on Isaiah's and showing him how to fish with a lure.
He did pretty good for a while until he got bored, isn't it amazing how quick a kid gets bored, next thing I know, he walks right in front of me and hooks his lure into the tree limbs, Larry comes to the rescue.
Zayah is holding the rod in one hand and trying to remove his lure from the branches with the other, Zayah says "Here hold this Grandpa" and just as he hands Larry his rod I see him slip backwards and disappear over the edge "SPLASH!"
Zayah is now floundering in the water, he has a grip on the tree branches with one hand and is waving wildly with the other, Larry is down on his knees pulling on the arm holding the limb, and Isaiah is in the water up to his armpits.
I'm on my belly trying to catch the wildly waving arm, "Zayah grab my hand!" I yell, I finally get a hold of his wrist, Larry and I slide him back onto shore, and Isaiah walks away muddy, wet, and embarrassed.
We didn't catch any fish but overall had a good day, Isaiah dried out fishing in the sun while sitting safely on the dock, one young man in his twenties told Zayah "Hey man it's OK we have all done it at least once, that's just part of fishing"
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| Jimmy holding an empty fishing stringer |
Do you use insect repellent for outdoor activities?
That's a great 'fish' story. I'm glad little kids still want to go with their grandfathers and I suspect it's the time they spend with their elders that they like more than the actual act of fishing. My nieces are over fifty and they still talk about their grandpa taking them fishing.
ReplyDeleteHello Jean, thank you so much, you are right with kids it's more the time spent together than in what you are actually doing, I still remember my Granddaddy clear as day and he's been gone about thirty five years.
DeleteI rarely go in the real outdoors so I rarely ever do. But I often do wear suntan lotion
ReplyDeleteHey Adam, it's a good idea to protect yourself from the sun as well as the insects, the suntan lotion is a good idea.
DeleteGlad you 'fished' him out safely. Insect repellant.....when there are bugs outside I'm iside. Does remind me of my grandad though...he had pernicious aneamia (not sure of the spelling) and was never ever troubled by insects. They can sense bad blood.
ReplyDeleteHi Delores, I told him if he fell in again that I'd have to fish him out with the net, he laughed on that one.
DeleteI have known a couple people like your Grandad who never get bitten, always thought it strange when everybody but one guy gets it.
I always use insect repellent because bugs find me particularly tasty.
ReplyDeleteThat's a good idea Stephen, if they find you tasty you have to make yourself less appealing, I try to keep a can in my tackle box, it's easy to forget that when you go fishing and that's when they find you.
DeleteSounds like a wonderful day and I bet great memories for Isaiah! I am one who the bugs loved, yep, cover every inch with bug spray. (Except here in my yard - we have all these wonderful bug loving birds ...)
ReplyDeleteIt really was a good day and Isaiah is a good kid, I think we used all my spray though, bug loving birds would have been a welcome site for us, glad you have them at your house.
DeleteMy Pa. grand children love to fish, it is the only thing that keeps them out of trouble.
ReplyDeleteWell said Joe, fishing is a great thing to do with the grandkids, and it does keep them out of trouble I'm planning on taking my grandson when he comes to visit in a few months.
DeleteCool that you all are teaching him to fish--swimming might be the next lesson to pass on though:))
ReplyDeleteDon't know what to say. There are no mosquitoes in the Ozarks or at least not where I live. I've had one bite in 12 years and that was when I was in town.
Hey Patti, I'm going to suggest swimming lessons to Larry for Isaiah, just in case keeping him on dry land becomes an issue ha ha
DeleteYou are lucky to have a place with no mosquitoes, one bite in 12 years is a good record.
We have a tick problem this season, so I'm going to have to find out what repels them.
ReplyDeleteHey Bijoux, I remember having years where the ticks were a problem, they are really hard to control too if I remember correctly, I know that I had to spray the whole yard in addition to treating the dogs.
DeleteThe vet offers a pill that is supposed to control them for a month, it's a little pricey but worth it, Dixie came home from the groomer with fleas we got one of those pills and in a few hours the fleas were gone.
That's a great story of your fishing trip Jimmy. You really do tell them so well I feel like I am actually there. Isaiah sounds like a great kid and a wonderful experience to go fishing with his grandpa and you. Even falling into the water will be a funny tale for him to tell as he gets older. I was with my dad fishing one time off some rocks when I was about 15 (we lived on the coast in the southwest of England). He got so happy at catching a fish this one time, he slipped off that rock and fell into the sea. Fortunately it wasn't too high or too hard for him to climb back up, and after I got over the scare of seeing him disappear out of sight and realized he was okay and was already climbing back up, all I could see was the top part of his head, his glasses at a crazy angle and his nose. He looked at me and rolled his eyes. I have never laughed so hard and he joined in. We laughed all the way home as we called it a day so that he could change out of his wet clothes. So yes, Isiah can rest assured that it happens to everyone, even to those much older.
ReplyDeleteHello Denise, I can just imagine the look on your Dad's face dripping wet with his glasses at an angle, I know it wasn't funny to him until he saw you laughing, then it was hilarious.
DeleteThank you for sharing this memory and for your kind words.
Yep. I've had several of those through the years.
ReplyDeleteHey Rick, I think every fisherman has or he's not working hard enough at it.
DeleteWhen my dad and grandpas were working, I'd go fishing with my cousins during the summer. Thing was, we went to the big pond in my grandpa's hog lot. My boy cousin got stuck with baiting our hooks, and getting our lines out of the overhanging tree limbs. After he got fed up with us and left, my girl cousin and I fished until we ran out of worm.
ReplyDeleteHogs are kind of mean. I learned that I really shouldn't go fishing in the hog lot unless I was with somebody slower than me. My girl cousin could jump a fence like an Olympic hurdler. Good thing the loading chute was near enough for me to make my escape!
Hey Val, hogs can be mean, it's a good thing you made it to the chute or else we wouldn't get to read your words of wisdom.....
DeleteI am glad you are here.
Outdoor activities? You mean right outside the house where the creepy crawly critters are? Where would I plug in my TV?
ReplyDelete:D
I do go outside, sometimes I'll go to the coast and walk along the beaches, no insect spray needed, but plenty of sunscreen and a hat. Other times I'll wander around the botanic gardens here, or go up into one of the hills towns with my camera.
Mostly, I'm getting lazy and spend far too much time with the books, computer, TV and sleeping of course.
Hello River, yes we all have to get out amongst the creepy crawlies now and again, but only during the commercials ;)
DeleteSunscreen and a hat is a very good habit to get into, I almost always wear a hat outside, I think we all have gotten to the point of spending more time with books, computers, TV, and my afternoon nap is a must.
An enjoyable tale, Jimmy. I suppose it depends on where people live 'cause no family members or me or friends went fishing. However, I often wonder what people do with the fish they catch. Are they all eaten?
ReplyDeleteHello Valerie, thank you mam, I guess that you are right fishing does depend on where you live, I know when I lived in South Carolina we did more fishing simply due to there being more available places to go, New Mexico was more difficult because we had to go so far to a lake, and here in California we get to go but a lot depends on whether the lakes have been stocked.
DeleteAn excellent question Valerie, yes the majority of the fish that we catch are eaten, although some are immediately released.
I mostly use spinners and lures because they only hook the lip of a fish giving me more opportunity to release them if I choose, smaller ones are released because there is a size limit and where we live you are limited to only five fish per fisherman.
Some fishermen only catch and release, I have watched some who have filed the barbs off of their hooks making them easier to remove, they do it simply for the sport and not for the meat, they can actually reel a fish close enough to see the size and then relax the tension on the line allowing the fish to spit out the lure and swim away.
So to answer your question most everyone that fishes does in fact eat what they catch, and this is if you don't count the catch and release guys.
Thank you for this informative reply, Jimmy. It certainly is a dedicated pastime. I shall think of fishermen in different ways now that I know they're cruel to the fish. And when I have fish for tea!
ReplyDeleteWhoops!. That should have read NOT cruel to the fish.
DeleteYou are very welcome my dear friend.
DeleteWell, you know what they say...a bad day fishing is still better than a good day working. LOL.
ReplyDeleteI don't know what to think of insect repellent...is it dangerous, or not?
When I go out walking, I just try to walk faster than mosquitoes can fly. If that doesn't work, I give them my meanest, sternest look and tell them I'm German and my blood is made of pickle juice. That does work. They tend to leave me alone.
I say whatever works Lady, if you can't out walk them give them the look ha ha.
DeleteDo you use insect repellent for outdoor activities?
ReplyDeleteYeah always, ticks totally freak me out and I'd bathe in the stuff if possible.
Oh man ticks give such a weird feeling when they crawl on you, I don't blame you for getting freaked out over them.
DeleteI'm one of those lucky people that do not taste good to bugs. They do not bite me. However, sometimes those little pesky tiny chigger like bugs will aggravate the heck out of me.
ReplyDeleteI love fishing and remember many times fishing with my daddy. I know I got on his nerves so bad back then. I think I even hooked him a time or two but never fell in the water.
Lisa
Hey Lisa, you are one of the lucky ones for sure to not get bitten, but like you mentioned they can aggravate the dickens out of you sometimes.
DeleteI think we all could get on our parents nerves when we were younger, that's part of being a kid, and fishing without falling in does take talent.
Even without catching any fish, that was a great story.
ReplyDeleteI've never actually been to Lake Fulmore, but I know it's on the road to Idyllwild. I'll check it out next time.
Great post Jimmy!
Hey Pat, yes sir it is the one on the road to Idyllwild, just a small lake you can actually walk all the way around, a lot of people come there just to walk around it, I think you would enjoy stopping by there, I'd just as soon fish there simply because it is so peaceful, I certainly don't go there for the fish ha ha.
Delete