Xavier Goes Fishing
Greetings to all.
For the last several months Xavier has been asking to go fishing and to go tent camping this summer.
Rebecca has wanted to take Xavier fishing for a while, but we have been waiting for "the right time."
Xavier's desire to go fishing aligned and the time was right. We just needed a hole to open in our schedule!
With Rebecca out of town these past weeks and next week, that hole was a 34 hour window centering around today.
Rebecca spent a few of her nights in Wyoming buying the basic rods, fishing licenses, simple tackle and a tackle box.
This morning, we let Xavier open open his surprise. Of course, he could not wait until after breakfast to head out to learn how to use his new equipment.
Rebecca and Xavier did head to the garden to dig up several earthworms to use as live bait. After all, one's first fishing trip without the quintessential earthworm is no first fishing trip at all!
After digging up the worms and placing them in a coffee can, Rebecca worked with Xavier to teach him how to use the reel and how to cast.
We ran some errands, then came home to pack a picnic lunch and load up the 90. We headed into Morrison and stopped to pick up a jar of salmon eggs.
We headed for Lair 'o the Bear about twenty minutes west. There we found a table to eat our lunch and then string up the poles.
We found a small deck overhanging Bear Creek near our picnic table. That was Xavier's first place to drop in a line.
Rebecca helped Xavier cast his first line. After five or six tries, Xavier looked like he had been fishing all his life. "He's a natural" Rebecca said about his casting.
The bank across from the little deck had several small fish jumping (six to eight inches) at a swarm of flies over the water. Sadly, none of those fish wanted salmon eggs or worms.
We walked down stream to find another place to put in a line. Not an easy task as the trail and park were popular today. Many families were camping for the day and splashing around in the creek.
Still, we found several nice spots. Xavier learned his pole and his reel well. He continued to improve his casting. Xavier was a little disappointed he did not get a fish on his first day out. "You have all summer," we encouraged him.
Xavier is excited to go again. He wants to go tomorrow. I told him no. Rebecca is out of town, and I don't want him to catch his first fish without her present to experience it.
