JC?s writing about the Field and Stream article, on taking the kids fishing, made me think of the young family we ran into at Grace Coolidge Lake, in Custer, SD.
The two little boys, aged roughly 3 and 5, watched with great fascination as I caught and released a good number of fish. Cast, hook, strip in, net, unhook (without taking them from the net), and slip them back into the water from the net. This went on for quite some time, when the little guys ran over to retrieve their Zebco Spiderman and Snoopy rods from the picnic area. After a few minutes of fishing, the littlest one ran over and got his butterfly net, put the orange plastic fish that came with his rod into the net?and gracefully ?released? it from his net. Anticipating the fish swimming away, he was all smiles?.until it sank, like a weight, to the bottom of the lake. The look of terror that crossed that little guys face almost broke my heart! Big brother ran and got his butterfly net, and proceeded to work for what seemed an eternity, to regain the little fish. Much angst, but a successful operation!
This Grandma had all she could do to keep from running over to help! The big smiles after lifting that fish from the water, heralded with my thumbs up, said it all.


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Trouts don't live in ugly places