Guest blogger Tom McCaslin: Omaha, NE

Let me start off by saying that I am a terrible fisherman.  I never really caught the bug and as a result I don’t usually fish in my spare time. My daughters have enjoyed fishing when the family gets together for the annual family trip to Mahoney State Park here in Nebraska, so I tag along to bait hooks and remove the occasional fish from a hook. They have fun fishing and I have fun watching them have fun.

My ten year old daughter Ava follows this blog closely and the social media posts of her cousins around the country.  She always marvels at the fish that her cousins catch and wants to catch her own photo-worthy fish.

Ava and I have gone several times recently to Bennington Lake, which is a flood control reservoir about 15 minutes from our home in Elkhorn.  The lake is surrounded by multi-million dollar homes but has a nice covered public access fishing dock and boat ramp along the North shore. Each time we have gone has been a bust.  We have seen many fish jump and the other people fishing on the dock will catch an occasional crappie, bass, or carp, but we catch nothing. Barely even a nibble. We usually just use night crawlers with a bobber, but one time we used a Mepps spinner. Still no luck. In my defense there have been other times when I’ve seen obviously experienced fishermen pack up empty-handed from the same dock.

Today was different.  We arrived at 8am armed with night crawlers and a package of the cheapest hot dogs Walmart had for sale.  We had the dock all to ourselves and immediately saw a large school of carp right at the surface. We quickly baited Ava’s hook with some hot dog chunks but had no takers.  The carp did not seem interested at all. A fast moving thunderstorm disrupted our fishing as we waited out the lightning for about an hour in the van. After the storm cleared we tried again.  The wind had picked up and the waves on the lake had gotten bigger. We tried night crawlers again, and after about 10 minutes of hopeful waiting, Ava hooked a Bluegill about 5” long. Not exactly a trophy, but she was happy to finally have a fish on the hook.

We alternated between worms and hot dogs for the next hour and she caught 3 more Bluegills of various sizes.  We were having fun now. I baited her hook with hot dog again and she just dropped the line straight down into the water hoping to snag a carp still hovering around the surface.  I was actually hoping she wouldn’t catch one because I didn’t want to deal with trying to get one of those ugly, prehistoric looking things off the hook. I’m not sure her rod and line could have handled one anyway.  I watched as her bobber quickly went under the surface. It started going under the dock, and Ava struggled to reel it in. She handed the rod to me and I reeled in the fish. It turned out to be a nice bass about 12”-14” long.  Ava was ecstatic! This bass was the biggest fish she has ever caught. It was bigger than any fish I have ever caught. After taking a few pictures of her prize fish we dropped it back into the water and it quickly swam away.

She caught one more nice Bluegill but the hook got buried deep in its mouth. I tried for a few minutes to remove it but I ended up clipping the line and letting it go.  I had forgotten my reading glasses so tying a new hook was going to be nearly impossible with my decrepit old eyes. I realized quickly that this was going to be futile so we decided to call it a morning.  Ava was very happy to have caught some nice fish, and I was happy to show her that she actually could catch fish with my help. It was a great way to spend a nice summer morning.

Tom McCaslin

I was thrilled when I received this e-mail from my brother in Omaha.  Even though, by his own admission, fishing is not his favorite past time, he still recognizes the joy that being outdoors brings to his children.  Ava is a strong follower of our Instagram page, and a determined and patient fisherman.  Seeing her mile-wide smile in the photos above warms my heart and adds fuel to the fire behind my mission to promote the outdoors to everyone.  Make your memories today, and get outside.