First Fish
© 2002, Tina L. Curtis
There are many memories that I have of my Dad when I was a child. Dad loved French Creek and would often venture down there on Sunday afternoons. Tammy, my sister, and I liked to go with him. It was the only time we were permitted to go to the crik at a young age.
Many times we would just walk along the crik bank. Whenever we would come to a graveled area, Tammy and I would throw stones into the fast moving water. Dad would practice skipping stones, something Tammy and I hadn’t mastered yet. We would also pick pussy willows which grew near the crik during the spring. We always had to pick extra to take to Grandma. She loved pussy willows. It was from that I learned that they would last longer if you didn’t put water in the vase. The water would cause them to “flower” which would destroy their soft, fuzzy texture.
I remember when Dad took Tammy and I fishing for the first time. He showed us how to bait the hook (though we left that task up to him) and how to wait patiently for the fish. I probably only lasted about two minutes before boredom struck. There was simply too much exploring to be done to waste time hoping a fish would want that slimy worm. I wandered away into the edge of a wooded area to look for violets while Tammy and Dad did the fishing.
Then there was a shout, “Daddy, I have one!”, which brought even me running. Dad helped Tammy reel in the small brown trout from the crik water. It had to be at least six inches to keep and barely fit the measurement but Dad thought it best to throw it back and wait for another one. Tammy didn’t care — she was hooked on fishing forever. The excitement brought me back to my pole which I had left laying on the ground. Quiet ensued for a few moments before I became bored once again. That was it for me. Violets beat fishing any day. Tammy could have it!
We didn’t take any fish home that day but Dad and Tammy chatted about the small brown trout all the way home. Me? I was content to rearrange my flowers so they would look their best when I presented them to Mom.
