Yesterday my boy wanted to go fishing. He asked if we could bring his cousin with us. An hour later I'm standing on the bank with my son(7) and nephew(6). I tied on a crappie jig for each of them for the bluegill and small bass cruising around the spillway. Looking down into the water you could see them swimming up and down the wall, bass up to about a pound. I tied on a 4" BPS drop shot worm. After helping untangle line and get the weeds off for 10 min or so we hadn't hooked any fish yet. The bluegill would charge at the jig and stop short, staring at it until you reel up and cast again. The bass just seemed disinterested as the little lures danced in front of their faces, sometimes having to change course so they wouldn't run into the bait.
My nephew gets his jig wrapped around the tip of his pole, again, somehow this time it is all tied in knots and wrapped around 7 or 8 times. I told him to hold my rod, as I was mid retireve with my drop shot rig. As I handed my pole to him I said, "just wiggle it a little bit and then reel a few times and wiggle it again." "OK!" is the response, excited because he gets to use my rod.
It only takes a few seconds to untangle the line and my nephew is saying, "I think there is a fish on here!" Sure enough. His first drop shot bass, and the only fish we hooked all day. We are a fishing family so this was not his first fish. In fact at 6, he outfishes his dad sometimes. But the look on their little faces when they hook a 9" bass is priceless. |