Doesn't every good fishing trip start with a drive down a dirt road?
Dirt roads are plentiful in Mississippi and we tried out several.
This particular one led to the land of a friend.
Apparently the pond hadn't had much use lately and the fish were hungry.
I was sure we could count the adventure toward some Scout achievement.
Lesson one: bait your hook.
It wasn't so hard as long as we had worms, but when they ran out we had to use crickets. Yuck! I lost several when they jumped on me.
Lesson two: unhook your catch.
Stephen was pretty excited about this; the others less so. Having been stuck myself years ago, I was a little nervous but I figured since I was making the boys do it, I needed to give it a go.
(This was actually Andrew being brave).
And what about Tootsie? I was so afraid she'd decide to go swimming.
Instead, she amused herself with the caught fish.
I found one that appeared to be asleep and she carried it around.
I turned my back, and this what I saw.
Yes, she licked the fish.
Matthew is old before his time. Not only does he like checkers and horseshoes, he's decided to buy himself a fishing pole. "You know, at that store where we got the camping stove. I bet they have lots." (Otherwise known as Academy Sports).
It was a wonderful afternoon.