Gone Fishing

Gone Fishing

We didn't actually go anywhere to fish, but we still went fishing. This was the first time either of our rods has caught a fish of any type or size. Rigel and I each caught fish on a school trip years ago, but with different rods. I learned how to do it properly from Dad this afternoon. I had completely forgotten what I had learned on the school trip, because I went six years ago. It's a lot harder then I thought, with the drag and bail and sinker and all that. To cast, I put my finger on the line and open the bail, and release the line when I start my swing. Sometimes the hook goes far out, sometimes it just plops in the water a few feet away. I'm not that good at it, but I'm getting better. Then I take up slack on the line and wait for something to bite. To set the hook I put my finger on the line and give the rod a good hard yank. Then I reel in the fish and see what it is. If it is a good fish to eat and big enough to eat, we keep it. If it is the wrong kind of fish or too small, we let it go. Rigel caught one on my rod, but it was too small. Then I thought I kept getting nibbles, but when I reeled it in to see if the bait was still there, there was a tiny yellowtail snapper, which we let go. We decided to give up for the day because it was getting dark, but what remained of the bait wouldn't come off the line. We put it in the water to let the small fish nibble at it until it was gone, and I really hope that a giant fish doesn't come and make off with the rod.
--Orion Date
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