Mendo Sunday(one of those days)

My son Ty who turned 8 this year had been bugging me to go fishing.He's been frustrated that dad has been sneaking off weekdays during school.So saturday nite dad got all the gear ready.He charged batteries for the livewell and fishfinder,rigged bait leaders,tied on lures,and loaded the yak and magic bait net.All ready for a early a.m. blastoff.
 Ty went to bed early so he would be ready.Dad watched the tube for a while then dozed off.He woke up and looked at the clock 3am,doh!He tossed and turned and finally fell asleep again at around 4:30.Dad woke up to the sound of little feet at 7:15 We were supposed to be there at 7:00.
 Oh well. :dontknow:after breakfast of crispy creme doughnuts from the gas station we arrived at Mendo at the crack of 9am.
 Power boats were starting to show so making bait was a major beotch .The shad never came up at the dock,so dad runs back and forth like an idiot on the beach for singles and doubles.
 Finally on the water we get close to the fleet,as we rounded the point Ty's rod goes bendo.Dad thinks he is snagged so he checks the rod at the same time a bass jumps 100 feet away.Ty gets the rod back and grinds till the fish gets close enough for dad to lip it.It's a nice 2.5-3lb largemouth. We had discussed only keeping stripers ,but Ty wants it so dad starts to put the fish on the stringer.All of a sudden Ty yelps in pain,the fish flops,and falls over the side and off the open stinger.It's motionless as dad grabs for it but it slips into the deep.Ty is upset because when hook came out of his bass it swung into his calf and stuck him.Then he realizes his dad has farmed his fish and is really disappointed.We continued fishing as people start a mass exodus.As we troll over a point Ty's rod goes off again,dad thinks he's snagged again but line peeling off the reel.Ty is really getting worked now,because the fish is running perpendicular to the yak.Ty struggles to keep a tight line and suddenly it goes slack.He reels in a hook with a solitary striper scale on it. We trolled a while longer then decided it was too hot and too slow,and headed for the barn.
 Dad told Ty how proud he was and what a good job he did.It helped knowing that dad had totally blanked.What really helped was some R&R at the White family homestead.Ty is still fired up about fishing,and dad is happy to have a little buddy!

 

So when ya gonna start listening to the kid dad?  I was definetly entertained by you guys. Good chatting with you fishshim. Now start treating every snag like a fish, until proven different!!!... 

as dad grabs for it but it slips into the deep

fishshim....I believe the crispy creme doughnuts made your hands a little too slippery to grab the fish 

Nice try Ty  Go git 'em next time 

Ty's a lucky guy.  Nice report, Dad!   

Fun in the Sun, with adrenaline flowin........  and now you got a new fishin buddy that can turn snags into fish!! 

Keep the buddy,let the fish GO!    thanks for the report Mark.

Mark:

Sorry Ty didn't get the fish in the yak, but the kids sure had a GREAT time back at the hacienda.  Ty is soooo