The One that Got Away

Last night, we took the boys fishing at the river. After we found a place that was sure to catch "a big whopper of a fish" (caleb), we started casting. Caleb got to use a big fishing pole, and his casting was very impressive. Cameron used his kid-size fishing pole, and after I casted a few times for him, he informed me quite insistently that he "could do it myself." So, I let him. That lasted, surprisingly, three casts before it became a huge mess. At that point Cameron decided he was done fishing with a lure, and he needed his fish back on his pole. *sidenote* If you are unfamiliar with children's fishing poles, many of them come with a 5 inch rubber fish attached. So, we re-attached his fish. At this point Caleb decided we were not at the optimal fishing location, and that we needed to move down river some. (timeline - all of that was about 25 minutes)

So we lugged our stuff a short distance down, and Caleb exclaimed this was "prime fishing area" and also "big whopper watch out, I'm gonna catch you." He casted several times, and then decided he would share with me, so I could fish some. Cameron was content with his pole and fish. Greg waded out in the river to get a better vantage on the fish we saw jumping. Of course, the boys "needed" to go out there with him. I kept casting and reeling. Cameron ended up wet from above the waistline down, but Caleb managed to stay fairly dry. At some point the three of them ventured back to land so Greg could do something to his line. Caleb regained control of his pole since I was "not catching a darn thing" (caleb). And, Cameron went back to "fishing."

At this point, Cameron keeps casting and then reeling in, claiming "I caught a fish, I caught a fish." And, every time he pulled his red rubber fish out, he looked more proud than the time before. This went on for a bit, then he really started play-acting. He sent the line in (all of two feet), then started tugging on his pole and letting more line out. He acts like he's struggling to stay upright and hang on to the pole as he steps backwards saying, "I got da big one now, must be as big as a shark. It's giving me a weally hard time, Ugh, Umph, Ugh. Come on you fish, I'm gonna get in you in yet." Of course, I am laughing hysterically and Caleb's having a difficult time reeling in because he is entranced by his brother. Well, Cameron hammed it up for a good couple of minutes, then finally produced his "whopper" of a fish. Imagine our surprise when he pulled out a 5 inch red rubber fish. He was beaming.

Alas, no fish were caught, but we had the best time, and I look forward to going again. This time I'll remember my camera, and maybe even the video camera.