Took my 4 year old daughter fishing on Bright Lake in Hartwick Pines State Park near Grayling, MI yesterday. She caught her first bluegill. Yipee! I got so excited I forgot to take a picture. Dang it! She had a good time, had to tell grandma all about it this morning and wants to go again.
Mike
Cadillac, MI
Cool!
Eric “nighthawk”
American veteran and proud of it!
Mike,
that’s great! A new fishin’ pal! Next trip, take your camera & post those pictures so we can admire them too.
Mike
You can call me Mike & you can call me Mikey…Just remember that this site’s about sharing!
Hey Mike;
Sounds like a great day!! Now you’ve got a fishin’ buddy. Tell us more about the lake. Maybe some of the youngsters attending the Fish-In would like to try it.
Mike forgive the red face!! I forgot!!
Don’t forget the Michigan Fish-In August 14th to the 20th. The Holy Water’s of the Au Sable await you!!
Cactus
[This message has been edited by Jack Hise (edited 04 July 2006).]
I used to set up my pick-up truck and sell black cherries at the turn off to Heartwick Pines. (Schmidts, the biggest ones) 50 cents a pound back then. Had them picked at dawn, then drove over from Traverse City.
Next time I won’t miss the picture 
Bright and Glory Lakes are within the boundaries of Hartwick Pines State Park. They have their own entrance just a bit west of the main park entrance. A park sticker or day pass is required. The lakes are small and the water is very clear. Perfect size for a small boat or float tube. There are also fishing docks on each lake. The Michigan DNR annually stocks both lakes with Rainbow trout. Mostly we saw Bluegill and Largemouth Bass.
Here’s a link for the park:
[url=http://www.michigandnr.com/parksandtrails/ParksandTrailsInfo.aspx?id=453:d61ca]http://www.michigandnr.com/parksandtrails/ParksandTrailsInfo.aspx?id=453[/url:d61ca]
The logging museum and the trail through the old growth white pine forest are both worth the trip.
Oh yeah - the sweet cherry vendors are out in force at every major intersection right now. Tart cherries are another week or two away. Blueberries should be coming on strong in August.
Mike
Cadillac, MI
you will both remember the day. I remember my first fish 57 years ago.
“Give me ambiguity or give me something else”
I can totally relate to this, when dh took our ds fishing, just the two of them for the first time, it was priceless. DS was soo proud, he called my whole family, told strangers about fishing with Dad and catching 5 fish together.
Truly Priceless…
I still clearly remember my youngest daughter’s first fish. She was also 4 years old at the time. I took both the girls to our municipal park lake, and rigged up their Zebco Snoopy rod and reel outfits with a bobber and worm. I showed them how to cast and told them to watch their bobbers. I walked around the shore for a few minutes, casting plugs, but kept an eye on them. Just as I walked up to them, Johnna’s bobber suddenly went straight down underwater with no hesitation. I told her to set the hook. She did so, and when the BG jerked back, she threw the rod down and ran away, looking back over her shoulder with a look of fear on her face as if the fish might be coming out of the water after her. When I told her to grab the rod and reel in, she just shook her head fearfully. I reeled up the fish and we took it to her grandmothers to get a picture. She was rather proud of “her” fish even if it did scare the poop out of her. I still have the picture. Although not a really big BG, it was the largest I have seen come out of that lake. I’ll never forget the look on her face as she ran away.
Larry Compton