Just Fooling Around
Took my daughter to soccer practice the other night. Had an hour and a half to kill, and I'd been nursing a sore neck/back. Thought maybe a little casting might stretch me out, but the closest stream was at least 20 minutes away.
The park where they play has a little lake behind it, polluted with bluegills, and several largemouths. Grabbed my gear and walked down to the bank. Tied on a wooly bugger and let it fly. The little bluegills were hysterical. They tried, but they have eyes bigger than their mouths...literally. Tied on a dry fly and cast after cast, they'd "attack" it
.
Got to be a real exercise in timing the hookset. Those little guys were so subtle, and some of those flies (gnats) were so small you couldn't see them. Had to be sharp and time that boil. Soon enough, I found myself really focused on my timing. By the time I was done, I wanted to head to the river.
Little kids would come by with their parents and watch. ("Why is he whipping his line in the air like that?") They'd stand there, I'd hook into a "monster," and ask them to hold the rod while I tied my shoe, zipped up my vest, whatever...and told them that if they "felt a bite," they could reel them in. Soon, I had four little kids taking turns.
What a howl. Doing something silly turned into a really beneficial and entertaining outing. Lots of fun watching those little kids brag about their haul-ins.
Made my evening.
