Fishing Fridays – catching a turtle

This past weekend we went over to Houston to spend time with my dad before his first surgery. We naturally ended up at my grandparents’ Lake House at Lake Livingston because we all love to fish. My dad actually lives in Ohio but is staying in Houston to have his cancer treatment at MD Anderson. To say I haven’t been fishing with him in a while is an understatement! The last time I got to fish with him was when our youngest (now 6) was just over a year old. We had just moved to Ohio for a bit before my husband enlisted in the military. I was so excited to fish with him again! My dad started taking me fishing when *I* was just a toddler! Unfortunately, our youngest was a bit of a handful as he tends to be when we’re not in familiar territory, so I didn’t really get to do that much fishing after all, but it was nice to spend time out there, and I fell in love with the lake! It stormed off and on all weekend, so fishing time was limited as-is!
So here is the bad news – I have not a single picture or video to show for it! I was so busy with the little guy and just generally keeping an eye on the other two I totally forgot to take pictures! Everyone had a good time, though! The kids got to experience using minnows as bait for the first time, and my husband got some practice with a cast net and caught quite a few little shads that are perfect for bait! I think we’ll have to get one because the kids really loved watching him, too, and playing with the minnows in the bucket! haha
The highlight of our weekend was when my dad caught a turtle. Turtles don’t always go for bait, though they do often attack your bobbers! It can be amusing, but I try not to laugh about it too long to not give them the chance to actually go after the bait! Whereas fish unhook easily and you can put them back then should you be choosing not to keep them – turtles generally DON’T unhook easily, and it can be really stressful for both parties! When my dad caught the turtle we were actually all out on the dock. This was one of those times, though, that the turtle had barely grabbed the hook and he unhooked him easily! Phew! We already told the kids to stay back because he was an angry turtle, of course! So my dad unhooked him, counted to 3, and that little guy RAN and jumped back into the water! The kids thought it was the funniest thing ever! Our youngest was making the funniest expression and just kept pointing to the water then putting his hands over his mouth and laughing! haha So although this case turned out to be rather fun and amusing – I don’t usually recommend trying to catch a turtle! 😉