I fondly remember my Grandpa taking me fishing once in Florida long ago. I can’t remember what we caught or anything else besides a mental snapshot of him showing me how to cast. Other than that, I can’t remember ever fishing in my life prior to about a year ago. Kinda sad, but I was privileged to grow up being in the woods a lot.
My friend Jacob took me fishing a couple times last year, and gave me a ton of tackle/tools to get me started. I am just an amateur, but I now have my own $40 telescoping fishing pole, net, bucket, and some tackle of my own.
Fishing is such a fun hobby. It’s peaceful, prayerful, and exciting all at the same time. Jill has come with me on several occasions just to be with me and help net big, floppy fish that like to jump the hook.
Once you find a less frequented spot, and if you are not picky, you can eat pretty well. I’ve caught 36 edible fish in four trips in the past couple weeks! This is not including the many fish that were too small or got away.
Above we have a bunch of Bluegill, a Smallmouth Bass, and a Pickerel. Some guys would throw these back, but if you prepare them right (and Jill certainly does) they are delicious. Jill breads and fries them in coconut oil. For the Bluegill we found this video helpful and entertaining.
This is the first time in my life that I’ve provided food for my family. Not in the “work/acquire currency/buy food” sense, but in the “I just pulled this out of a lake” sense. It feels great. Every man should be taught this skill in boyhood. I was missing out all these years.
Jill and Alice have become really good at cleaning and preparing the fish too, and they enjoy that part of it. It’s great teamwork for the whole family. Sitting down to a “fish fry” at dinner is rewarding and very tasty!
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