Let me ask you a question. When you were a kid did you ever go fishing? If you did, I’ll bet that you remember the experience. I know I remember fishing as a kid. I remember going to my dad’s as a kid and fishing. There was a river near his house and I used to ride my bike down to the river. One time I dropped my line in and I had a huge fish on the line (I’d never caught a big fish). My heart started racing and I couldn’t wait to see how big it was. I was able to reel him near the surface and saw a trout bigger than any I’d ever seen. Now my heart was really racing, I couldn’t wait to bring him in. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a net and when I tried to bring him to shore, the line broke and I lost him. Even though I didn’t catch this fish, the memory is still with me. I remember a time fishing for salmon as a kid out on a charter boat and limiting out.

When I became an adult, I mostly forgot about fishing until Monica was about 2 years old. We bought her a fishing pole and went fishing. I’ll never forget the excitement “Daddy, I got one! I got a fishy!” Fishing became something we did together. We discovered Fish Lake and it quickly became our favorite place to fish. Monica always caught more fish than anyone else. Here’s a picture of some of the fish she caught one day. There were so many fish she could barely pick them up!

There were many other times when we went fishing together. One time we camped at the North Cascades. We decided to go fishing at the base of a dam. It was one of those perfect days. The water was so clear that I could see the trout. This is one of my favorite pictures of that day. She was so happy and content fishing with Daddy.

There was another night when we went fishing on my boat and caught a salmon. We’d decided to camp on the boat and were hungry. We drove to a little store and bought some butter, lemon, and a little barbecue. We barbecued the salmon on the dock while we watched the full moon. The salmon was delicious and the time we spent together is indelibly etched into both of our brains.

Isn’t it interesting that I can remember the extraordinary detail about that big trout that got away 35 years ago? My memories of fishing with Monica are poignant, etched into my heart and memory forever.

Last Saturday we went to Fish Lake with my kids and some friends. The weather forecast was raining and thundershowers and everyone swore we were crazy (especially our wives who stayed home). When we got to Fish Lake, we thought we were crazy too. We launched the boat in the drizzling rain with 4 kids packed in. We dropped our lines and immediately Chloe caught her first trout! Then Noelle caught her first trout. Then Conner and finally Nathan got their first trout. They were so excited! We probably caught a dozen fish in 2 hours and it didn’t rain a drop!

I wonder why fishing memories are so poignant? Is it because when we are fishing we are absorbed in the moment? Is it because many times we are spending time with those we love the most? Is it because we are in nature enjoying God’s creation? I honestly don’t know and I’m not sure I’ll ever know.

Here’s what I do know. As a dad, I am very busy with work, my house, and taking care of all of my kids. I’m overwhelmed with the projects that I haven’t finished (the yard needs mowed, the truck is broken, the toilet isn’t working, the deck needs to be stained….and on and on and on it goes). Taking the kids fishing just takes away from my limited time to do all of the work that needs to be done.

I’m glad I made the decision to take my kids fishing and so are they.

What about you? Do you remember fishing as a kid? When was the last time you took your kids fishing? I want to challenge you to forget about everything you have to do for a day and take your little boy and/or little girl fishing. You won’t regret it!