The Long Wait is Over....

Timing is everything. Sometimes the timing is long in coming. The kids, their dad and I have been talking for a long time (4 years long time) about going fishing. Not living in the same town, it gets a little hard to coordinate such an endeavor. Add in emphysema, weather, health, and schedules....well time has flown by. But with Grandpa's latest visit, we made a point of it to go fishing. Only one fish was caught. We give credit to Flutter Nutter. It was his line. This fish ended up being half as big as him. I had the privlege of reeling in the catch of the day. Of course. as it always goes, there is a story to this fish. We had been catching lots of rocks and brush. So when I took the line I was convinced he needed help freeing himself from a rock. A tug, a little slack and then a big tug.... A FISH! Well we had been watching the kids on the shore and what they were catching. They weren't anything all that exciting big. An exciting catch but nothing to run and go get a camera for. The line was really pulling. I was trying to not be wimpy. Then this fish surfaced. "HELP" "HELP!" I am hollering. Then realizing dad can't help, he is connected to his O2 tubes. Big O Daddy O is busy with 3 other kids and their fishing poles. "HELP!" "HELP" They are all laughing, until they take a look. Quick as he can BODO is getting the net. A little bit of comedy there, trying to maneuver around children, fishing poles and the mom, yelling, "HELP!" "HELP!"

We defintely took pictures and the kids quickly turned to Grandpa and asked what kind of fish it was. It was definitely not crappie. DRUM fish. The kids were quick to say, "Of course, it is flipping around in the boat and it sounds like a drum." I got a quick lesson in freeing the fish from the hook and putting him on a string and hanging him off the boat. Back to fishing we went. With a little convincing the kids agreed to free this fish back to the waters till next time. Disembarked the boat with stories to tell and dreams of the one that got away were still to be had in their sleep. Looking forward to the next adventure!