here it is, good dad or bad -
after 1st 6 mos, my wife was working part time and i had a partial work-at-home arrangement. so, I started taking my daughter fishing at least as early as age 2. more or less as soon as i could get her into a life jacket. there was a bit of working on 'her schedule' (being fed, diapers, etc) as i remember before heading out. and a lot of extra gear to bring too.
i used to take her little dvd player along and a copy of cinderella movie. when i got a fish near the boat, i'd yell 'we got one, we got one', and she'd come out from under the canvas (draped over dash and seat), try reeling a little bit, then i'd net it for her.
once when she was a little older, we were out and she told me she had to use the bathroom. i had stopped bringing potti after many non-uses; so i looked around a little then pulled up the board covering the bilge and said that would be good. i remember her disappointed little face when she looked at the black mildew, rusty tools, spare prop all down there sloshing around. she politely refused and i was at least decent enough to bring her back to dock.
now, she has serious lightning mousetrap hooking action and is very proud of her fish-catching ability. she asks questions about big fish and 'trophy' season, trying to figure it all out and is looking forward to earning a catch and release patch for her book bag. just hope the fish and dnr cooperate on this one.
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