Father's Day Bethany Pond (Portland, OR)

For Father's Day I managed to convince my wife to let me take my 2 1/2 yr old son Owen out with me for his first time in the kayak and his first time fishing.  I had to promise a nice quiet body of water so I thought we'd try Bethany Pond just west of Portland.  I know they stock it with trout in the winter and early spring so I thought it would at least be fishable.  Turns out that by mid-June it's just about completely covered with weeds and we could hardly find an open whole to drop our worm.  No fish caught, but Owen had lots of fun as we saw ducks and a large orange carp (koi?) under the lily pads. I guess I'm still looking forward to watching Owen catch his first fish. Here are few pictures...








As for what I got for father's day.  Well I got a nice card, a bottle of Hendrick's Gin, and a new side fire box for my relatively new grill so that I can now hot smoke things like ribs.  The grill itself is the Char-Griller Duo which uses propane on one half and charcoal on the other.  Now I just need a salmon to smoke.



Brian

Great report Brian.  Love the pics of the little one, WAY precious!

Was the wife there taking pictures of you on the water?

Michael

Thanks Michael,

Yep, my wife Amy was on shore with the 12x zoom.  I'm going to look for a better pond/lake.  Hopefully I can get Owen on some fish by the end of the summer.  The nice thing about taking a toddler out fishing in a kayak is that for one they don't get bored and unlike bank fishing they can't be distracted by the nearby playground.

Brian

Priceless..........

I'd say by the look on his face, while you are tying knot,package in hand and line in mouth, you're gonna be a busy Daddy on the weekends for quite awhile!
...then the shot of him pulling the yak back to the car?
that is called "Mini-Madness" and you have planted the SEED!   
Good one Bri!       

Strong Work bsteves!!!!

  Nothing has come close to the feeling I get putting My Guys on Fish while on The Yaks....

 Precious Times... 

...then the shot of him pulling the yak back to the car?
that is called "Mini-Madness" and you have planted the SEED!       

Priceless..........

That's what came to mind for me too - Priceless!  Good Times with little Owen.  Yeah, Brian, that's what it's all about.   

I hear the salmon bite is pretty good at Raley's or your local Fred Meyers. 
Way to get the young one out. My only question is what took ya so long? 
Keep it up and before you know it you will have a fishin' buddy all the time.

My only question is what took ya so long?

Tote, that would be Owen's over protective mother.  He's been sitting in my kayak on our lawn for months with his fishing pole just begging to go out.  If my wife had it her way he'd have to be able to pass a swim test stricter then the one I took when I was a lifeguard.  Anyway, I think this little test trip has finally calmed her nerves a bit.

Brian

The future of NCKA looks bright...I gotta wear shades  Good job on taking Owen out  Just remind mom that Owen is in good hands....especially in the hands of an ex-life guard 

B

Looks like Owen had a good time and the weather looked great.  Glad you where able to spend fathers day doing what you wanted to do.  Thanks again for putting me up and the BBQ.  Im still full.

Jim

No worries Jim,

Thanks for helping watch Owen practice in the yard.

Brian

WTG Dad! Nice pics. Good headstart for the big guy. Pretty soon it's gonna be "like dad-like son"

LL

Good job Brian... very cute. 

I was able to keep Carson on a kayak in Spring lake for about 3 hours, which was longer than expected (with one shore stop for lunch)... had a nice bag of tricks to keep him occupied.

1.  Bring extra worms... he'll like washing the worms, hanging them in the water, watching them squirm around, and eventually breaking them in half. 

2.  If you have minnows with you, bring extra... a lot extra... they are even more popular than worms.  And once they have been 'played with' to within an inch of their life, they will inevitibly be released to fend for themselves.

3.  Cheetos... lots of cheetos.  If there was anywhere to let your kids eat cheetos, it's on the kayak.  The orange fingers are no problem with all that water within easy reach. 

4.  Pack a lunch and plan to pull over on shore for lunch at some point.  They'll have fun getting out of the kayak on shore in an unexplored area.

Good stuff...

EK

Good job Brian... very cute. 

I was able to keep Carson on a kayak in Spring lake for about 3 hours, which was longer than expected (with one shore stop for lunch)... had a nice bag of tricks to keep him occupied.

1.  Bring extra worms... he'll like washing the worms, hanging them in the water, watching them squirm around, and eventually breaking them in half. 

2.  If you have minnows with you, bring extra... a lot extra... they are even more popular than worms.  And once they have been 'played with' to within an inch of their life, they will inevitibly be released to fend for themselves.

3.  Cheetos... lots of cheetos.  If there was anywhere to let your kids eat cheetos, it's on the kayak.  The orange fingers are no problem with all that water within easy reach. 

4.  Pack a lunch and plan to pull over on shore for lunch at some point.  They'll have fun getting out of the kayak on shore in an unexplored area.

Good stuff...

EK

can I come next time UncleErik? that sounds like FUN!