July 4th, 2019

Shane remembered fishing today. He started asking from 7:01 AM on.

I gave in by 10 AM.

Shane knew exactly where he wanted to go. There was a "secret bass spot" he and Grandpa learned about the last time they went fishing and talked to a guy.

Shane's got laser eyes for any black-tipped tails. We saw one bass that made Shane hoot and holler. "It's as big as I am!"

He marked it down to "half as big" as he is when I was dubious. It was a much larger fish than we normally see in the pond. I'd put it at 18" to 24".

Shane named his quarry "Chum." When Chum's 'slightly smaller friend arrived, he was dubbed, "Flum."

Shane wanted to try some different lures, because "Bass like shiny things."

We experimented without success.

At least, for bass. The sunfish were happy to chow down on any bread that touched water.

Shane caught all sizes. He said he caught at least 20. I stopped counting after 10.

I faded back some support and Shane was pulling fish off the hook himself. 

I can't say he worked as quickly as I do so the fish might not have approved, but it's what they go. I told him to knock it off when he tried to stick his finger down one fish's throat to see if it would bite.

I read somewhere that in Utah the park service air drops fish. It's quicker and has a higher survival rate than trucking them in. We'd love to try it, but we don't have a plane or a helicopter to play with. That leaves old fashioned elbow grease.

Shane almost threw one too far. That'd have been an unfortunate, yet interesting problem to solve. Certainly a good story!

Speaking of stories, Shane showed me some fishing line from when Grandpa got a lure stuck. There was a mighty battle, but in the end the line was cost and the lure was lost!

Shane's version is much more legendary and includes sound effects.

We didn't see a lot of people walking in the heat, but Shane made sure to greet everyone we did see. One family played fetch with their dogs in the water. Shane commented that there was no swimming and I'm not sure if it was because he thought that included dogs or he was jealous.

We bought some sparklers for later, but it was a lazy afternoon.

Ryan and Kim had mentioned a Flying Squirrels baseball game with fireworks as one opportunity tonight. Carrie's notoriously anti-explosive fun and a bad weather front rolled through. There was wind, lightning, and massive thunder. Carrie took a video to send her parents that I might put up here (if I ever get it!).

Shane did get to play with a sparkler after everything died down. Carrie experimented with the multiple exposure setting on her camera and they played around for a little bit before bed.

Busy morning, quiet night.