Some Days Are Just Better Than...
Some days are just better than others. This week is teacher appreciation week. Our principal had all the teachers put their names in a bowl, and then had another teacher draw out five names. If your name was drawn the principal agreed to watch your class for a half a day. I don't know if I was more excited about getting drawn or getting a half a day off. Anyway yesterday was the day I was drawn for. Not being one to want to waste a gift, I took my 3rd oldest son out of school, and we took off. He's a senior with great grades and he will be leaving home in a month or two, so I value any father/son time I have left.
It's a little bit of walk to where I like to fish, but the fishing is usually good, so it's worth it. Here is my son not too far from the dam. At this point we had been fishing for a couple hours and he had yet to catch a fish. He had hooked and lost one, but that was it. I'd caught a couple and was starting to worry he might get skunked.
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I guess I shouldn't have worried too much. Not too long after the above photo he was able to land his first fish. My son is kind'a known for not smiling a lot. It's not that he isn't happy, he just needs to have a reason to smile. Think we found one.
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Here are a couple I caught before he landed his first.
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Battle scared bugger. The fish not me. ;) It was pretty cold. We got snowed on and rained on, but we stuck it out and had fun
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We went for a pretty long stretch without catching much, when I heard my son call out: "Dad I got one!" I ran down the river to meet him and help him land his fish. He had it already taken care of by the time I got there. This is one of the darkest rainbow trout I've ever seen. Kind'a cool looking.
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This last fish was a team effort. My son stood high on the bank and directed my casting. He could see the fish from his angle, but from ground level (water level) I couldn't. It took about 15-20 minutes of taunting the fish but this one finall bit. I have to thank my son as I would not have caught this fish without him.
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This photo kind'a cracks me up. It's the same fish as the one above. I had just unhooked it and my son was still higher than me on the bank. He said: "Hold it up so I can get a picture." It is a big fish, but this angle makes it look HUGE! Funny the difference an angle can make.
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Back at the car my son was the first to get out of his waders and back into the car. I was back at the trunk putting everything away when I heard him say: "Dad, look at all the deer". I was so busy I hadn't even noticed them. They were right in front of the car, about 25 mule deer. I couln't get them all in the frame at the same time. It was a fitting and proper end to a very good day.
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As you can see they weren't too wild.
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