Last Sunday, I took my 2 1/2 year old Granddaughter Tori fishing for the 2nd time. This trip, she said, “Grandpa needs to fish too”, so I broke out my 8’ 3 wt. To show how closely she watches, she tried “fly casting” her 2’ Zebco, & while Grandpa was untangling the mess, she grabbed my fly rod & laid out all 10-15’ of line I had left laying on the ground (1st picture). On her 4th cast, she caught the dandy 8 1/2" gill pictured on a “Grandpa tied” woolly worm. To me, the most amazing thing was that, even though I had told her to just reel the line in, she had watched so closely that she was stripping the line in! That’s when the gill hit. Looks like I may have to contract good buddy Joe Valencic to build a mini fly rod, as she didn’t touch the Zebco the rest of the day! Enjoy…
Very 8) Grandpa Mike. My daughter is 22 months old. I hope when she gets to your granddaughters age she takes a liking to ff as well. Thanks for sharing your day.
It will be my pleasure to build a fly rod for the youngest fly fisher that I know. Your pride is shining so bright that I need to get my sunglasses. 8)
I think I still have MY shades on!..And look at this JC,she kept her back cast “uppeth”!!!
Obviously, little Tori has Grandpa wrapped around those little fingers! If she asked me tomorrow for ALL my fly rods, I think I’d have to go shopping! I can’t say no to this child.
Mike
Hey Mike…CONGRATS!!! Just looking at the pics I bubble over with pride for you too! That’s just incredible!
I have a 22 month old daughter (like T-Fly) and I too can’t wait to take her out and let her try to flyfish for b’gills…
And most of all - you’re sharing a gift with her that she will remember for the rest of her life…I STILL remember the first time I went fishing…maybe 3…caught one crappie out of the Mississippi…
That is fantastic. That pond sure looks familiar. I think we might need to rename it “The Pond Where Young Fly Fishers are Born!” Looks like Grandpa’s got a fishin’ partner anytime he wants.
Mike, check out the Global dorber group 4.5 and 5 foot blanks for a child sized fly rod and then build it yourself. She’ll be especially proud that grandpa made it just for her and you’ll have learned a usefull skill.
Mike…That pond SHOULD look familiar. It’s where Christian got his 1st (& 2nd, 3rd, etc) Fish Ohio bluegill! We had fished another nearby pond & I decided to see if this pond was still “scummed over”…obviously, it was pretty clear.
Mike
FANTASTIC!!! You’re one lucky grandpa. There’s got to be a fly fishing or sporting magazine somewhere that would love to publish some photos of the “Littlest Fly Fisher.” One of our local TV stations has a photo submission contest where folks can submit photos of fish they catch along with the catcher. They have kids and adult categories. They show photos every evening during the news and pick the winning photos after a while; but, don’t know what they get other then to have their photos on TV. Some of them are really cute like your new fishing partner. Does she give lessons yet???
Mike,
WONDERFUL! Tori is such a sweetie and those pictures really brought our conversation of the other night to life. She really does handle that rod very well. Wow, an eight foot rod and large arbor reel handled like a pro by her and catching that dandy gill too! 8) You are blessed, grandpa, and Tori is blessed to have a grandpa as great as you. You are the best buddy!
Eric,
If you could have seen her stripping that fly in, you’d have busted a gut! Today was rainy & a friend & I were installing a new water heater, but Molly called & told me that Tori announced…“Tomorrow Grandma comes to read books, & today Grandpa takes me fishing!” Looks like this will be a couple hours a week from now on.
Mike
