Strawberry 8/17/05

[PrinceFisher]

[black]Today (Thursday) is the first day back to school for my two sons, ages 8 and 6. Yesterday I thought I'd take the day off of work and do something fun and memorable with them to end their summer breaks.[/black]
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[black]I woke them yesterday morning about as early as I dared, about 6:15 a.m., and we loaded the truck and headed to Strawberry. We stopped briefly for breakfast and supplies at Heber, so we didn't arrive at the lake and begin fishing at Renegade until shortly after 8 a.m.[/black]
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[black]Our primary target was crawfish, since I wanted to make it very fun for them, and craw fishing always seems to keep them entertained if we happen to find enough mud bugs interested in the chicken scraps we usually offer as bait.[/black]
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[black]Almost immediately after throwing out the trap and some sundry pieces of meat in various submerged rocky and vegetated locations, we began to notice interested crawdads flocking toward the bait. [/black]
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[black]Although we found fewer numbers of crawdads at Renegade compared to those we've located in the past at Soldier Creek--the size of the 'dads at Renegade were gi-normous! So big were some of the 'dads in fact that we easily scooped them up with a large trout net without fear of them slipping through the 50-cent-piece sized holes of the net itself.[/black]
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[black]While my kids kept busy with the mud bugs, I baited two rods with minnows, worms and marshmallows, and Power Bait. The water was fairly shallow, so I waded out considerably before casting. I'll bet I casted the bait from both rods out at least 40-50 yards from shore in order to get the bait into deep enough water.[/black]
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[black]During the five hours we spent catching mud bugs, we didn't get a single bite from a willing trout. It's probably one of the first times I've ever been to Strawberry and not gotten at least a bite.[/black]
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[black]We did end up catching one fish yesterday, however. At about 11 a.m. we noticed one fairly large and injured chub swimming close enough to the shore for me to scoop him up with the net. He appeared to have been bitten behind the head by something large enough to try to devour his eight-inch length, or maybe he'd simply tangled with the business end of a boat motor. Either way, I decided to put him out of his misery by flinging him onto the shore so that he could fertilize some shoreline flora.[/black]
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[black]I'll mention one more thing: Those of you who are fathers, have you ever had one of those red-letter days when you've been witness to your sons taking big steps toward becoming men? [/black]
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[black]Since we opted to leave the aluminum boat at home yesterday, we had a lot of gear to carry, which meant that each of my sons had to accept and lug his fair share of gear a considerable distance from our parked truck to a distant spot on shore. While watching them struggle greatly with extra clothes, treats, tackle boxes, chairs, etc. along a bumpy and thistle-ridden trail, I could see their frustration and fatigue mounting with each step. [/black]
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[black]I kept waiting for them to complain or say that they wanted to stop, but they pressed on resolutely for two trips, once to the shore and once again after a long morning back to the truck, with good attitudes and without needing a lot of coaching and encouragement from their dad.[/black]
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[black]And when a monster mud bug clamped his claw onto the finger of my oldest son, who was helping me devein our catch of the day, I waited for the inevitable tears and sobs to follow. Instead, I watched my son choke down his emotion as he held his bleeding and torn finger only momentarily before gritting his teeth, picking up the offending 'dad, deveining him without any hesitation, and moving on to 'dad after 'dad until the job was finished.[/black]
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[black]How my sons handled themselves yesterday was pretty impressive in my book, but then again I'm their dad and am a little biased in their behalf. [/black]
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[black]I'm hoping that when they open their lunch bags today on their first days back to school and each see the whole cooked crawdad their mom has included in their lunches, they'll and remember the great day we had yesterday and have something cool to show their friends.[/black]
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[cat_man]

That's awesome bout your boys becoming men!! I hope you told them so too! They'd love hearing that from their dad!!
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[Kent]

Shawn, one of those memorable days that you and your kids can and undoubtedly will treasure for years to come.
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[PrinceFisher]

Told them I did. I gave them many hugs and expressed to them frequently how much they were helping me and impressing me.
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[CROSSINEYES]

thats either the best thing a dad can witness or the worst. for me i love seeing my son grow and lern but i sure miss the days when all he wanted was to sit in my lapp. and they are gone forever. but owell he just about big enough to start hiking them uintas with dad chasing screeming bull elk. win some loose some.
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[PrinceFisher]

Hey Kent,

Hopefully they'll both remember their experiences positively.

I don't doubt that my eldest son will fondly remember the numerous large crawdads, the lake and other wildlife, and the beautiful drive to and from Strawberry.

But I'd be willing to bet that my second oldest son will first question whether or not it's even worth going and will then surely ask, "Are we going to have to walk so far this time?" the next time I ask them if they want to go fishing.[]

It's funny how different their personalities are.
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[utfishguy31]

It sounds like you had a great bonding trip with your sons,I really enjoy going out with mine and having that 1 on 1 time.Your sons will apprectiate it when there older and do the same with there boys.
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[PrinceFisher]

You know, I've got to make taking more pictures a priority. When I was a first-time dad, it seemed like I was constantly snapping pics of nearly everthing my new son did. Now after three (and soon to be four) children, I find myself taking fewer and fewer pictures.

Now when I take them fishing, it seems like I'm more concerned about making sure that the cooler is stocked with treats, that they're comfortable, and that they're catching fish--which hopefully goes a long way towards them enjoying themselves.

It's probably time to include a camera on the long list of things I usually bring so that I can preserve the memories and show them when they're older how great of a dad I was. [][cool]
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[MrLipripper]

Some fun, huh?
Many people would sum up the day by saying it stunk because only one fish was caught and it wasn't even a game fish. The three of you made it a very productive day by having fun fishing and not catching. Good for you!! About the camera - I often feel left out of the action and missing a lot of fun by trying to take pictures, candid or staged. The best memories are stored in your brain and heart and not necessarily on film or media cards.
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