Boy Goes Fishing

“Bye, Sweetie! Make sure you are safe when you’re out there and I will see you guys before it gets to dark!” The woman shouted from the marina dock. She was a woman in her early thirties, but the years of raising her children had added a decade of age across her face. She smiled, but her attempt to hide her worry was written clear across her face for all who knew her.

The young boy threw his mother a quick wave and she quickly became a speckle in the horizon. It was his first time out to sea without her by his side. He was worried too. But he quickly gained his sea legs and joined his father at the wheel.

“Today is going to be the day Boy! I just know that we are going to catch you your first monster fish,” the boys father said with enthusiasm abounding each word. The young boy squinted his almond shaped eyes as the suns rays bounced off the water. He had caught a few fish before, mostly off of the pier that he and his father frequented; he couldn’t wait to impress his father with a large fish similar to the fish that his father had brought home on his many returns of a fishing trip.

The young boy felt the saltwater mist his face every time the boat leaped across a wave; his hand began to feel numb from the tight grip he had on the smooth seat.

Finally the boats engine slowed to a dull roar, grey smoke quickly emitted the rear end of the boat. It appeared only for a moment; as if the boat was signaling that it had reached its destination for the day.

His father heaved the heavy anchor into the depths of the ocean and he began to notice that the boat seemed to sway steeply from left to right when the engine was not on.

Without words, father and son, both reached into the bait bucket- the once clear water had become brackish and emitted a stench that smelled of salt water and rotten fish. Disregarding his initial gag reflex the boy reached into the bucket to grab a small baitfish and quickly placed it onto the hook.

With one swift motion he cast his fish rod as far as his arm would let him. Now they play the wait game. This was the suspenseful game that all fisherman love; they wait for the tip of the rod to gently tap…tap…tap…

Waiting is the part that the boy could not stand. He noticed that a large pelican had followed them from the marina, no doubt to snatch a small fish when the father and son pair turned their backs.

Out of the corner of his eyes he saw that his fishing rod began to dance. The rod began to dance faster and faster. “Dad! I think I got something on the line!” The boy shouted as he picked up the large piece of equipment, gasping as the line on the other end of the rod attempted to swim away.

For fifteen minutes the boy pulled against the monstrous fish that grasped the hook in his mouth. The muscles in his arms quickly began to ache and his father started to see the signs of struggle in his son’s eyes. With his fathers assistance the boy began to win his first encounter with a massive fish.

As quickly as they pulled the fish aboard the boat, they positioned its body against the measuring tape located on the cutting board at the rear of the boat.

“Now Son, you caught yourself a good size Red fish. But…it’s not at a legal size that we can keep it. We’re going to have to let it go,” said the boy’s father. He said the words tenderly; it was the first fish the boy had caught by himself on the boat and he didn’t want to deter him from any future fishing trips.

“Well…How big was he?” asked the youthful boy with a perplexed look in his eyes.

“Your fish is about 10 inches long. It’s a really great size, but we just can’t keep it,” said the young boys father.

“Wow,” said the young boy in astonishment, “I’m only six years old and I caught a bigger fish than you did today! Wait until Mom hears that!”

For the rest of the day the young boy did not catch another fish, but the rush and excitement of his first catch lasted the entire day. As they neared the marina the boy kept watch for signs of his mother; he couldn’t wait to tell her the news.