Fishing School

“Hi my name is Brandon. My friends call me BJ. Today, Grandpa
is going to teach me how to fish. This is a very special day. We’re going to fish in Cape Cod Bay. Grandpa told me we have only one day to fish. We have to buy a ticket so we can go on a fishing boat. We are going on the Cee Jay. Grandpa fished on this boat when he was a little boy.”

” I can hardly wait to get on the Cee Jay! The ramp to the
boat is s-t-e-e-p!”

“BJ.” Grandpa said. “We need to find a seat and a couple of fishing poles.
The first mate will help us.”

“Grandpa” asked BJ. “How many people work on the boat?”

“On this boat, only two, the captain, Captain Dave and his First Mate,
Chris.” answered Grandpa.

“What do they do?” BJ. asked.

“The Captain operates the boat and special equipment to find the fish.
The First Mate helps the people fish, by cutting bait, measuring the fish
and sometimes in pulling the fish into the boat.’” answered Grandpa.

“Grandpa what are all those tubs for?” asked BJ.

“That’s where the First Mate will put all the fish I catch.” joked Grandpa.

“Why is the boat slowing down?” inquired BJ.

“We’re almost at the place where the fish are.” answered Grandpa.

“What do we do now?” asked BJ.

“Well we need bait to attract the fish.” replied Grandpa.

“Is that what Chris is cutting?” asked BJ

“Yes.” replied Grandpa. “We put the bait on the hook then we drop our
lines and let them run out until they reach the bottom,” answered
Grandpa.

“Why do we do that Grandpa?” BJ. asked.

“Because the fish we are trying to catch live near the bottom of the Bay.” Grandpa replied.

“How do we know when we are at the bottom of the Bay, Grandpa?”
asked BJ.

“The line will stop going out, you need to slow the speed with
your thumb or your going to get a snarl in your line….” answered
Grandpa.

“Oops! I didn’t stop in time, Grandpa. What a mess my line is now!” said BJ

“Your right.” laughed Grandpa. “Don’t worry I’ll fix it in no time.” Grandpa
said.

“Now that we got that fixed we need to reel up the line a couple of
inches.” Grandpa told BJ.

“Why?” asked BJ.

“Because the fish live just off the bottom and we need
to put the bait near them.” Grandpa replied.

“Grandpa, how will I know when I have a fish?” BJ. asked.

“There will be a tug on your line and the pole will dip towards the bay.”
Grandpa replied.

“Like this!’ exclaimed B.J.

“You got one!” Grandpa said excitedly. “Now reel him up!”

“Grandpa please, help me!” BJ. pleaded.

“Look Grandpa I got one!” exclaimed BJ. “What kind of fish is it?” asked
BJ.

“It is called a Fluke. Its white on one side and brown on the other.”
replied Grandpa.

“Why?” asked B.J.

“Because the fish live near the bottom, the side nearest the bottom is
white, but its brown on top so it can blend into the bottom and that makes it
harder for other fish to see it.” said Grandpa.

“What is Chris doing?” BJ asked.

“His measuring your fish to see if it is big enough to keep.” answered
Grandpa.

“Is it?” asked BJ.

“Yep! And it is going into the tub. Now it’s Grandpa’s turn.” said Grandpa.

“Grandpa I got another one!” yelled BJ. “Please help!”

“Now you have caught two good ones.” said Grandpa. Now it’s my turn!”

As the sun begins to set BJ says “Grandpa guess what!”

“You hooked another one?” replied Grandpa.

“Yes!” answered BJ. “How many have I caught so far, Grandpa?” asked
BJ.

“I think you have caught six, but now its time to head home.”
Grandpa responded.

“Grandpa have you caught any fish?” BJ asked.

“Nope, I was feeding them.” joked Grandpa.

“Grandpa”, BJ said, “That was fun. Thank you for all the help
you gave me today, b-u-t Grandpa I think you need to go to fishing
school! Could we start your lessons tomorrow?”
Grandpa laughed and said, “It was a good day, maybe tomorrow we will bring your mom and you can start my lessons!”