Catching Our Limit

After two weeks of pretty constant yard work, a day on the lake with my dad was just what I needed.

The day was gorgeous, the water was calm, and the fish were biting.  Four hours later we had caught our limit of perch...

and some pretty nice walleyes. 

After putting away the rods, securing the net, and getting ready to head back into shore, we looked at each other with giant smiles on our faces.  As Dad gunned his giant motor and steered us across the lake, I thought about how lucky I am to have him for my dad.  I can't imagine a day when he won't be around to take me fishing, when I won't get to watch his big strong hands at the steering wheel and see the look of pure contentment on his face.  Since I was a little girl fishing with my dad was always such a big deal, and it still is.  And though the boats and motors and equipment have changed over the years, the fishing protocol is always the same.

The way he backs the boat into the water and seems to make you wait while holding it next to the dock before jumping in just a few extra minutes to see if you can do it.  How he giggles when you get splashed with water on the way out to one of our "spots", though we all know he hit that wave on purpose.  Taking out the old bait bucket, the shiny orange minnow net, and putting the cooler full of snacks and Mom's awesome sandwiches that have been baggied and labeled for each of us out of the way until later.  Inevitably if the fish aren't biting as good as we like one of us will crack open a can of pop or take out a candy bar and not be able to even get to it because the fish have taken that opportunity to start to nibble for themselves.

A day on the lake with my dad is never about how big the fish were, or how many we caught, or if the weather was nice or not.  It's about just being able to simply FISH together, without having to tell each other how much it means to us.  It's about continuing a legacy that started decades ago when my grandpa and great-grandpa taught my dad how to fish.  Not only did these men pass on their fishing talent, but they taught patience, respect, and how to get by with what little you might have in your boat that day.  And that's a lesson we can all stand to learn.