Iris Catches a Fish By Herself

I went back to Yellowwood Lake on a warm afternoon, this time with Lidia, Sebastian, and cousin Iris. I haven't been fishing with Iris for a long time, so it was good to get her back in the rotation.

The kids were eager to get down to the water.

Sebastian remembered something he had to do and made a quick stop by a tree.

Then it was checking out the water...

...baiting up...

Photo by Lidia.

...and getting to it.

Photo by Lidia.

Iris had never caught a fish by herself. She was intent on changing that.

And she came through. Way to go, Iris! The first of many.

After that, it was boots off and explore the life of the lakeshore.

Lidia caught a minnow in her hands (How did you do that, Lidia?) so Iris held it for awhile and then tried to catch some herself. She thought that would be way cooler than catching a fish with a rod and reel.

Sebastian fished for awhile--with no luck this time--and then got interested in the snacks and watching Iris and the minnows.

We moved down the shoreline and checked out a different spot.

It wasn't a good spot for minnows--or for bluegills--so the kids took off exploring the woods. We gathered them up and hiked back to the car and drove to the other end of the lake and a wide grassy area perfect for grazing geese and running children.

We looked at the water--Iris waded in again--and I threw a worm in to see if we could find any more hungry bluegills. We didn't, and the kids were more interested in exploring, anyway. They were drawn to the sledding hill as if by magnets and quickly conquered its heights.

What goes up must come down. They couldn't resist running all the way down. Lidia and I watched as they got to the bottom and kept on running--straight for the geese. The geese began to run, honking wildly, and then exploded into flight with a roar of wings. While I would normally counsel the children not to disturb wildlife, I have to admit it was a magnificent moment.

Photos by Lidia.

We hiked past the geese, now safely out of reach of marauding children, and tried our luck again at one more fishing spot. But the catching was over. And it was time to go. Iris would be the fisherman of the day on this trip, and that was the perfect ending to a perfect day.

We hiked back to the car. Three of us went around the sledding hill. One of us went straight over it one more time.