Today my family and I returned to Trout Lake for the annual fishing derby and fish education day. Unlike last year, we arrived on time and came prepared with an eager 4-year-old and appropriate fishing gear. The trout were plentiful and Siena caught her limit of four fish. We are all looking forward to dinner tonight when I prepare fresh trout sauteed in garlic butter and olive oil.
Last year, Siena required a great deal of supervision and encouragement. This year she was engaged, patient and successfully landed two fish by herself. The other two required my assistance, but we got the job done nonetheless. After we were satisfied with our successful fishing expedition, we took Siena to a nearby playground where I excitedly called my dad to share my daughter’s accomplishment. He quickly reminded me of our Tahoe Trout Farm trip when I was 8 years old, asking if Siena caught any “flying fish”. To this day, he still enjoys teasing me about the hasty and haphazard manner in which I landed my trout. While my father expected me to “play the fish” as a prerequisite for thorough enjoyment of trout fishing, I fortunately had no expectation for Siena. In fact, I believe the two trout I helped my daughter catch today could easily be described as “flying fish”.
