This Summer marks the sixth birthday of my youngest grandson, Noah Fredrick. He is growing in grace and stature. I committed to spending two days a week with Noah so he could have quality time with his family.
Having been married for 51 years to a true fisherman, I wondered when Noah would ask to go fishing. This Spring he began to question Papa as to when he would be old enough to go fishing. . .Papa wasn’t sure he was up to tackling a bright and busy little boy who had never been fishing. My husband is now 73 years old with numerous health problems and so only fishes about once a week with a good friend who takes him in his boat these days. I can tell you, if there are fish in the water, my husband will catch them. He is an excellent fisherman!
I asked my husband a couple of weeks ago if we could take Noah fishing later in the week. I could tell he was mulling it over in his mind what would be best for Noah. Finally, on Friday morning after breakfast, Papa announced that he had gone out early and brought back some fishworms. Wow! He was actually going to let Noah go fishing with him. I had been praying that Papa would take Noah and also asking the LORD where we should go for this very important event. Where would it be safe for the three of us to make these precious memories?
I called my friends, Bill and Karen to ask if we could come and bring Noah to fish in their pond. It is a large pond on 16 acres of property not far from where we live in the country and with all the flood waters so high in Iowa, I thought this would be the best option. No fishing from a boat or near running rivers, etc. The lakes are also too high for a child to try to fish right now. Our friends readily agreed it would be fine for us to stop out anytime and let Noah try his hand at fishing!
Right after lunch, I was picking up some things and I looked outside and Papa and Noah were in the driveway and he was helping Noah get acqainted with a real fishing pole. Noah had been “casting” his play fishing pole, a little plastic one, over the footstool in the living room all morning and I guess Papa thought it was time for Noah to use a real one. He selected a small and lightweight one with a good covered reel and rigged the line without a hook for Noah. I watched from the backdoor in the kitchen as my husband began the “casting” lessons with Noah. He put sinkers and a bobber on the line and was sitting on the tailgate of his truck talking to Noah about what he was to do with the fishing pole. In no time at all, Noah was doing exactly what Papa told him to do and could easily cast the line right out into the long driveway where he was supposed to. I stayed inside so they could enjoy their time together and Noah would listen to Papa.
Finally, I went out and asked if they were ready to go to the pond and try to catch some fish. Noah ran to get the fishworms out of the refridgerator in the garage himself and wanted to open them, of course. Papa told him to wait unti we got to the pond. At the last minute, I grabbed his swim jacket (just in case!) and he ran back into the house to find his “fishing hat” which he had never worn. Then we drove to the pond.
What a beautiful place! There was a little beach with sand in one area and Karen and Bill came out to show us where we could stand. Karen brought a bucket of soapy water for us and a couple of little towels to wipe our hands on. Papa put the hooks on and Noah opened the worms up. Out came a large fishworm, wiggling for all it was worth. No use, Papa had him on the hook in no time. I watched with a thankful heart as Noah Fredrick, just six years old, cast his line perfectly where Papa told him to throw it in.
Almost immediately, the bobber went under and Papa told him to pull back and the little guy caught his first fish! Noah looked very wide-eyed and was so happy to see that fish come in on the line. “Here, Papa, you’d better help me!” Papa helped him land the bluegill and we all marveled at the beautiful markings of orange and blue on the fish. Noah wanted to look it over really well but didn’t want to touch it. “Nan, look at this fish. God made this fish. It has colors like a rainbow.” It was very beautifully marked. Noah took it all in. Papa took it off the hook and threw it back into the pond. Then we started the process all over. Noah threw his line in each time and in a couple of hours, he caught about eight fish and a small bass.
He tried to hold one once, but it wriggled out of his hand. He was fascinated with the worms. He stayed on task and was very attentive the entire time, except when he took a couple of pictures with my camera of the pond. Noah likes to take pictures and does a good job. Love the first one he took of his shoe, then he took one of the bobber, of course!
I tried my hand while he was taking pictures and threw my line in but didn’t get any bites, so I told Noah I was going to reel it back in and try again. He looked at me and said, “Patience, Nan, patience! Leave it right there.” I could see the beginnings of a true fisherman beginning to emerge from this little boy and I was so glad we had the opportunity to take him fishing.
Noah called his Mother to tell her he was fishing and we took lots of pictures so she could see what he was learning. Kathy has spent many happy hours fishing with her father in the boat and on the lakes. She has many wonderful memories of her Dad’s fishing trips. So, we had a very enjoyable day with our youngest grandson, Noah Fredrick and we got fish! It was truly a day to remember.
