This morning was the annual fishing thing they do at Horseshoe lake. I am sure that there is a more technical name for it, I just don't know what it is. It starts at 7 am, and the earlier you can get there the better. You will beat the crowds, and possibly have room to fish without hitting the elbow of the angler next to you. Brett and Ethan have gone camping, and so I decided that it would be a great idea to take my girls and try our luck. Luck really has nothing to do with it. They stock the lake with about a million catfish. You could probably walk right into the lake and scoop a fish out. Anyway, as I said, the earlier you get there the better. So the girls and I got there around 9:30 am. Bright and early, and just in time for the mad morning rush. We got our pole that was generously provided for us, and our cup-o-worms. Then we set out in search of the perfect spot to catch our prize winning fish! Actually, we were just searching for a spot on the shore that wasn't already inhabited by other people. It was pretty tough, but we finally found our niche. Right in between two nice families. I was the lucky one to put the worm on the hook. Bonnie thought about doing it, and then realized what it really means to bait the hook, and she wasn't interested anymore. I cast our line out into the water trying not to hit any of the small children running around, and trying not to tangle lines with any of the other 500 lines already in the water. Then I gave the pole to Bonnie, who immediately reeled it in again. Eliza wanted a turn to hold the pole, so after I cast again, I gave the pole to Eliza. She looked very official standing there with her pole in hand. Bonnie was getting a little bored with this whole thing by now started to play by the water. Eliza, without taking her eyes off of the bobber in the water, very sternly told Bonnie, "Don't play in the water!" I made Bonnie hold the pole for a few more casts, and then she was done. She asked if we could go to the kiddy pools now. So off we went. Nothing is as exciting as catching a fish that has already been hooked for you. After "catching" our fish, we headed up to the cleaning station. A very nice service if you ask me, but a little traumatizing. They hit, no, smashed the fish's head with a club, cut its guts out, pull its skin off, and saw its head off. All behind a nice clear plastic barrier so you can follow your fish from dying fish in a plastic bag to headless fillets in a plastic bag. All in all, a pretty successful fishing trip if you ask me.
