Mikayla takes her first bass fishing trip
By By Mikes Giles / outdoors writer
Nov. 22, 2002
After picking up my Bass Tracker from the shop following a little routine maintenance, my five-year-old daughter Mikayla talked me into taking the boat out on the lake for one last time this year. (When it turns cold, I usually bundle up and head for the woods!)
I know it's hard for most people to believe, but she really had to twist my arm to get me to go out on the water with hunting on my mind.
We were just going to launch the boat and make sure that everything was working properly, before storing the boat for the winter. Of course I have a weak spot for children and little 5-year-old girls especially, so I relented and parked my truck in the lot and headed for the open water. Naturally she wanted to go fast, in cold weather no less.
Perfect timing
With only an hour or so of light, we had just enough time to hit one hot spot. As fate would have it we were in luck! On my second cast, I caught a nice bass. After catching another one on my next cast, we threw out the anchor. Although Mikayla is only five, she proceeded to give me a lesson on catching bass.
You're never too old to learn, as I found out on this day. I would cast out the six inch June bug colored Zoom worm and turn the rod over to her. A slow and steady retrieve was all it took, as she caught one on the first throw. Now you talk about being tickled pink and a proud poppa, I surely was!
She really gave me a lesson on this day. In fact while I was taking a photo of another boater I heard the water splashing behind me, while she exclaimed, "I've got another one!" I had to stop what I was doing to take the bass off of her hook. Now don't get me wrong, she did lose a few, but she ended up catching a nice limit of bass that made for some fine memories and tasty fillets. What better way to end a year of fishing than catching a few fish and making memories with a youngster!