Our New Boat
This journal entry is very special to me because it represents many firsts in my families’ lives. At the beginning of this year, my wife and I decided we would purchase our first new fishing boat. We talked with several boat dealers, and did a lot of research to decide which style/brand of boat would best suit our needs. After looking at many different styles of boats, we decided to order the Lowe Fishing Machine 165. The boat finally arrived after six weeks of waiting, and we were eager to get it out. Last weekend was the first chance we had to take this boat out, and though we didn’t catch anything over 6 inches, I consider this trip to be one of the best I’ve ever had.
My major concerns for this trip were getting used to trailering and launching this boat. I have never trailered anything or launched a boat in my life. Catching fish was a distant second for me but I’m sure if you asked my kid, his ideas were much different. Upon arrival at Lake Wilhelm, we realized (to my relief) there were very few anglers or boaters, and we launched the boat with no issues. This was Nate’s first fishing trip and our goal was to find a few willing panfish no matter what the size. We had our eye on a nearby cove and decided to give this spot a try. I first rigged my 4 year old’s spider man rod and let him cast out. While rigging my wife’s rod, I heard Nate yell “I got one! I got one!” This was his first fishing trip and his first fish (a 6 inch golden shiner). I can honestly say he did everything himself in catching that fish. We were all extremely excited and took many pictures to capture the moment. This scene played many times over with both my wife and Nate, as they both caught several bluegill’s (or blue gray’s as my son would call them), shiners, and pumpkin seeds. My main job was to keep everyone’s lines in the water weather it meant baiting, untangling, or taking off fish.
Nate's First Fish
Nate reaching for my wife's small bluegill
Nate with another bluegill (or blue gray as he calls them)
We made a couple moves to try to find bigger fish, but I could tell my fishing partners both wanted to go back to the spot where we were catching numbers. We returned back, but it seemed even the small bite turned off so we decided to pack our stuff up and call it a day. As we were heading back, another highlight for my son was being able to drive the boat. I think, as you can tell by the pictures, he is hooked and has been asking about getting back out since we quit that day. Once again, trailering the boat went without a hitch and soon we were on our way back home.
Nate driving the boat
Nate taking a Cheetos break
Loading the boat to head home
To end this entry I would like to share some of my thoughts on the day. I was incredibly excited to take my family out on the lake to spend some time together outdoors. My wife enjoys the outdoors and loves to be outside, but with our busy lives and young child we haven’t taken the time to go fishing together. Hunting and fishing have always been my activities. Now, though I don’t believe I would ever get my wife out on a hunting trip, fishing is an activity we all enjoy and can share together. Fishing with my son also gave me many moments of reflection. One particular moment came when my son threw a huge birds nest. I was thinking to myself, “How in the world did he do this”? This thought brought a huge smile to my face as I remembered the many times my father would fix my setup only to have me tangle it again and again. My son is just like I was in that I didn’t want dad to do anything for me, so casting for him was not an option. By the end of the trip he did very well and made his dad very proud. Enjoy the pictures… Hopefully there will be many more soon.
Good luck and be safe
Mike
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