Throughout this last month I have been doing my annual reflection and assessment of last year's ups and downs, and a funny story keeps popping into my mind.
After a day of salmon fishing in Depoe Bay last summer, I stopped at Mo's in Newport for chowder and a cold one. As I ate, I watched a guy jigging for herring off the pier with limited success. After watching him for a while, I wanted to try my luck at it, so I ran across the street to the tackle shop and bought a couple of weights, jigs, and a bucket.
I jigged for about an hour and had a blast (even though I had missed the prime portion of the tide and only managed to catch 15-20 nice herring). I was just about ready to pack it in when a family came over and asked what I was fishing for. They watched me jig for a few minutes, and the little girl was completely enthralled by it. I asked her if she would like to try, and her eyes lit up with excitement. I handed her my rod (semi-reluctantly since it was my favorite Lamiglas with a brand new reel on it), and I began to show her how to do it. She turned to me and said, "I know what I'm doing. We went fishing last summer, and out of my whole family I'm the best fisherman." I smiled and stepped back and watched her consistently catch 2-3 of the little silver buggers on each retrieve. I finally convinced her to give her brother a turn, and he caught a few, but nowhere near as many as her.
Their father finally came back over and thanked me and told them it was time to go back to the hotel to go swimming. I told him I had enjoyed it, and that his daughter had first stated and then proved that she was the "best fisherman." He started laughing, and then confessed that there was a good story behind it.
Dad proceeded to tell me that they had gone to a trout farm somewhere in Washington the year before, and that they all caught fish, but the daughter caught one of the "trophy" 16" rainbows that were in the pond. He said that the owners of the trout pond told her she must be a great fisherman to catch one that big, and they asked her if she wanted to keep it. She looked sheepishly at her parents and asked if she could, and they agreed. Suddenly, the operator of the pond took out a club and bonked the fish on the head, and the girl started bawling. She said, "I thought we were gonna get an aquarium!"
Needless to say, I laughed the whole way home. I felt badly for the girl, but for me it was a great end to a fun day. Thanks again to Skipper for the ride onto the salt (I'm still scared to venture out there on my own). And to everyone else, I recommend handing off your rod to a kid anytime you can. If you're like me, the smiles on their faces are even better than the the joy of catching fish myself.
"I\'m the best fisherman"
ANDYCOHO
I still have the picture with her frowning. 
judyfish99
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