This past weekend I decided to take the boat out one more time just to see if I could get a fish or two and to run a little Stabil Marine formula through the Yamaha. Andrea was working, so I took Sarah my 1.5 year old with me. Sarah has been on the boat several times but usually just for a ride and usually sitting in someones lap. This time I was going to actually try to fish and Sarah would be allowed to roam a little more.

Before heading out I made a point of cleaning up all the old plastics, hooks and what not laying around in the boat. I have already learned from past boat rides that Sarah likes to throw any and all soft plastic she can find over board. Once I had the boat in order, we grabbed her little life jacket and headed for the ramp.
Fish lake is just a minute down the road and I haven't been on it all year. I drive past it almost every day and can even see some of the best docks on the lake right from the road. Although many of the docks have been pulled for the year, most of the productive ones are still in.
The weather was cool but flat calm as we pulled away from the ramp. Water temp was 57. A little warmer than I had actually expected. Signs of fish activity were abundant. Swarms of small fish were boiling the surface and we came across a school of carp rolling around on top as well.

As I got up on plane, Sarah sat very confidently in the passenger seat giggling as the wind tugged at her Dora The Explorer stocking cap. We came down off plane in front of a stretch of docks I knew should have a few fish under or at least around them. Sarah joined me on the front deck and I strapped her into the pedestal seat along with a 5.5 foot rod. I tied a 5 foot piece of twine to the end of the rod and attached a big red bobber to the end of the twine. This created a fantastic toy for Sarah as I started to throw a Wave Bamboo Stick towards the docks. I had to deal with getting plunked in the head a few times and fix a few tangles but she was having fun and I was on the water. She would occasional want to trade rods but I was able to convince her that her rod was more fun.

I saw a fish under the first dock. It looked like it was chasing bait but I wasn't able to get it to hit. I'm not sure it was a bass. The milfoil was still pretty green and the water had cleared up considerably. I tried another dock or two before grabbing a spinnerbait and giving it a try for a few casts. No luck. Sarah was starting to get impatient and had climbed off her chair and started to walk in circles around the front deck, still tethered to the seat. I figured I was probably out of time but wanted t try one more dock. I put Sarah back up in the seat, skipped the worm up under a boat lift, handed the rod to Sarah and told her to reel it in. She made one crank of the reel and the line went tight. I took the rod from her hands and set the hook. A nice 3 lb Largemouth came splashing out from under the lift. Sarah pointed and screeched in amazement. I got the fish in and held it proudly for my daughter. She wasn't real interested in touching it but kept pointing at it and making the sounds that only a 1.5 year old can make. The proud daddy put the fish back in the water and decided to call it a day. I wasn't going to be able to top that. I couldn't ask for a better way to finish my open water season. Next year Sarah will be bigger and able to stay out longer. Hopefully that means I will get to hear many more screeches of amazement.