Guest post by Dave Bazen, veteran Orvis Saltwater Fly Fishing Festival Attendee
The two questions I get asked most often are “Dad, where are you going?” and if the answer is fishing, the next question is always “Dad, I come with you?” It’s tough to say no to a smiling 8-year-old daughter, so as often as possible the answer is yes, and off we go.
Elizabeth loves to be outdoors, and fishing is a perfect excuse. She always wants to come, explaining that I’m going for mullet and it's just not safe for her yet it is a tough sell. “I could wear my swimming costume, so it doesn’t matter if I get wet” is one of her answers. You can’t help but smile at the reasoning. But a trip to a carp lake with a few mixers, a glass 8 weight, and the Chernobyl badger fly is perfect for us. It’s close to home, it's visual, it’s not too serious and it's cheap. Once at the lake and having fielded several rounds of excited quick-fire questions on the way, I set up the rod and while under direction she sets up the mat and screws the net and handles together. It's simple stuff but I can involve her, we are fishing. She isn’t watching me fish.
If you ask Elizabeth, she can cast, hook the fish, and do it all herself. That’s nearly true. She casts very well when I stand behind her and the hand of God cast with her. The line lays out straight and she grins. Fast and hungry little common carp will grab the fly hooking themselves and tear off bending the rod and peeling line of the reel. It's perfect for her, I can stand back and tell her how to fight the fish. It's simple, when the fish stops you pull and wind. There’s more giggling than concentration during the fight, and her grin matches mine. If they come off it doesn’t matter. Once on the mat, we touch and admire it carefully and quickly before release. She waves off every carp having named them. Big Jeff and Little Jeff get caught on most visits.
The enjoyment of these trips spills over into other parts of fly fishing. Elizabeth will sit and watch me tie flies. Although she calls it “tie flying”. I tie quickly hoping to finish one more badger or rommys sand shrimp or barbel squirmy before the inevitable “can I tie a fly?” comes. So, we swap seats. All the drab materials are put away and all the bling materials she can find come out of the box. Materials she wants to put together are put on and I try to guide her toward something vaguely fish-catching. But it doesn’t matter, these flies will soon be tested in our fish tank.
I once tried to tie a mouse fly for a pike. Elizabeth and I went to the river to test it. The biggest chub I have ever seen grabbed it. We unhooked and released it together. Whenever we walk the river looking for fish, she always points out that tree under which “the mouse eater” lives.
On one of our first trips, we met up with my friend Emma. Emma wanted to try and catch a carp. Elizabeth was 6 years old then and this was one of her first trips. She was fascinated by a woman fishing and still talks about that now. It’s a good lesson for her - anyone can do anything, and that evening taught her that she can be a fisherwoman if she wants to be.
Childhood is so short, I’m sure she will find other things more interesting as she gets older. But I hope there will always be time for her and my 2 boys to come and fish with Dad.
