Today we planned to go on a Cub Scout fishing expedition. Our Cub Scout den is working towards their World Conservation Award and fishing is one of the requirements. We planned to go to a private pond in a friend’s backyard up near Hillsborough. He built the pond 4 years ago and stocked it with bass and catfish. It is a popular spot among Scouts looking to do more than “Try their best” at fishing. They want fish and this is the place where you can fish with hot dogs.
We needed to go to Wal-Mart and get another fishing rod (for Grace or Peter, but that’s another story), so I suggested we go to the Wal-Mart in Hillsborough, eat lunch up there (it was at least a different set of fast food restaurants) and head to the pond for fishing.
It had been raining all morning and it was in the high 50s. I spoke with our other den leader as we headed into Wal-Mart and cancelled the den meeting. We figured since we were here, we might as well go fishing. It was barely drizzling at this point. What’s a little rain? Imagine, the parents want to stay in the rain and the kids would rather be inside.
We bought a fishing rod (for Peter, and Grace got his old one), some Canadian Nightcrawlers (big ass worms) and a fishing tool with pliers and several knives because I had forgotten my Swiss Army knife.
We drove to our friend’s house all ready for some fishing. It was raining pretty steadily by this point. We got all of our stuff and found a spot along the pond where the grass was low enough to get access to the water. Meg tied the hooks to the line. I baited the hooks and we were off.
I helped Grace cast. I told her if we were vegetarians and loved muddy, dead oak leaves, we would be very proud of her. She caught about five of those. Peter was able to fish by himself. He’s great at casting. But he didn’t catch anything either. Even Meg, our master fisherman, didn’t have any luck. The only time a fish nibbled, I was holding her rod and there was too much slack in the line for me to effectively snag the fish.
After a little while our children told us they were cold, wet and miserable. And ready to go home. I was having a good time because it was nice to be out in the rain without worrying about getting wet. We were already wet. It was cold, but it didn’t really bother me. Since I don’t have my own fishing rod, there was no pressure for me to catch any fish. I am also free to help Grace as much as she needs.
After removing our muddy shoes and wet jackets we got in the car and drove home in the cold, driving rain. The heat in the car was blasting. Peter took a long hot shower when we got home. Another Cub Scout elective completed.
