Fishing with Grandma

It’s Been a While Since I Went Fishing…

First of all – my previous fishing experience was about 60 years ago with my grandparents who lived on a lake in Minnesota. My grandfather raised four boys so having a granddaughter was foreign territory for him. The man must have been a saint! We would get out to the middle of the lake in his fishing boat and I would immediately have to pee. Well, that situation is a whole lot easier with boys who can just pee over the side of the boat. Not so little girls. So back to shore we would go and then back to fishing. He would patiently put a worm on my hook and after a bit offer to trade fishing poles with me. Low and behold every time he did – I would immediately catch a fish. Poor grandpa never caught a thing.

My two boys fished Minnesota lakes but I was somehow spared the details, preparation and clean up so it did not add to my experience at all. Now the grandsons want to fish and being Canyon Lake is right outside our front door – I can only say “wait till Bop gets home” so many times.

Very Rookie (But Tried-and-True) Advice To You

1. Go to Brookshire grocery store in Canyon Lake and buy some oyster crackers (I’ll explain later). Get your fishing license here too. Kids under 17 don’t need one but you do!
2. Go to the Brookshire gas station and get 2 styrofoam cups of worms. Better make it three – they go fast.
3. Go to Ace Hardware store down the road in Sattler and get a minnow trap, some kid sized fishing nets (one per kid unless you want fights to break out) and a buoy or a life jacket and a small bucket if you don’t have any. You can also get your fishing license here. Give yourself plenty of time to shop because it is so much more than a hardware store! They even have cute hats and t-shirts and the best gifts and greeting cards for miles and miles.
4. Have the kids wear swimsuits (they WILL get wet) and water shoes (the shoreline is rocky).
5. Load all this plus water and snacks and sunscreen into a wagon, a golf cart or the back of your pickup and head to one of our three shoreline “beach” areas.
6. Put a few of the above mentioned oyster crackers in the minnow trap and throw it out as deep as you can get it. Mark the spot with the buoy or life jacket. Just leave it there for quite a while.
7. Now send the kids out along the shoreline with the nets – have them randomly scoop in the mud and water and see what they find. We catch tadpoles, crawfish and minnows pretty easily. Put them in the bucket with some water if you want to observe them for a while.
8. When the kids tire of net fishing – check out the minnow trap and hopefully you’ve got some bigger minnows!
9. When you are all sandy and soggy and tired out – release your catches and head for home.
10. With the lower lake level now there is more shoreline and a nice little peninsula has formed down by the point. I’m thinking it would be a great place to cast a fishing line and we plan to try it soon. You can also boat or kayak out on the lake with fishing poles (this is where the three cups of worms comes in handy – the fish tend to nibble much of the bait away so you have to reload your hook frequently) We have a great secret spot – but its a secret so you’ll have to find your own.

And that my friends is how to take the kids and grandkids fishing grandma style!