Gone Fishing

My immediate family includes my mom, dad, my sister and me. After having his final child, my dad decided that having only girls wasn't going to stop him from teaching his kids about all the great things he loved to do growing up. These things quickly became wonderful memories and fun past times for my sister and me.

One of our favorite things to do with our dad was going fishing!

He started us young. We went fishing in rivers...

Lakes...

At the beach...

Or in the deep sea.

We caught all kinds of fishes. Little ones. And big ones.

From cobia, Spanish mackerel, blue gills, bass, trout to pikes. We loved to catch everything. 

I always felt like I was learning something so special from my dad, when he would show me how to tie the best knot or technique for casting. 

He even taught me how to put a worm on a hook. 

Hey that's a big deal to a little girl...

I loved when he would take the fish off the line for me. Once I got a certain age, he would show me how to do that too.

You will notice that the little blonde girl, Lindsay, is wearing a pink polo in almost every picture. That was her special catfish shirt. It was a lucky charm she liked to wear whenever we went fishing. 

Sometime we would even catch our own bait fish and dig up worms to use.

We always had a blast going out with my dad to find the perfect fishing spot and catching all kinds of fishes. Then we would trudge home, smelly and tired. My mom would have a big smile on her face excited to see what we caught for dinner. Then no matter how tired we were we would help my dad scale and clean the fish up. It was yucky and gross but it is part of fishing. Then we would enjoy our catch, usually fried up with a crispy, cornmeal batter.

I will never forget those moments I spent sitting next to my dad on the bank of the lake or on the edge of a boat.

Don't let gender stereotypes stop you from spending time with your loved ones. You never know what your kids will be into.

Go out and experience life! 

Go fishing!