photos courtesy of Linda Berry
Little Roberto takes a break from helping Grandma and Grandpa fish.

Sometimes, someone comes along in your life that knows how to get your attention, put things in perspective and tell you like it is. They don’t see life as being complicated or political. And don’t think that just because they are very young and “inexperienced” that they don’t have opinions or a lot to offer in the way of advice. If you “listen” to what they are saying, you can learn a lot from a child.

My 3-year-old grandson, Roberto, has been my fishing inspiration for the past 9 months. He and his Mom (my daughter) and his Dad moved in with my husband and I last September while they were re-locating and starting new jobs.  I never really wanted to be a grandmother until I became one. Now, I depend on my grandson to keep me focused each day and amuse me in the process.

The fishing lessons started immediately as he was adjusting to his new home and we were adjusting to having 3 extra people sharing a small two-bedroom house. My husband and I were looking forward to taking Roberto fishing so we started “breaking him in” by showing him all our fishing tackle and letting him play in the bass boat.

Fishing Lesson # 1: Never throw a plastic lizard on an un-suspecting 3-year-old!

What we thought was funny turned into a screaming frenzy and he almost fell out of the boat trying to get away from the lizard. Boy, did we get a scolding! We just knew we had ended any thoughts of his ever agreeing to go fishing with us. I can’t really blame him for getting upset. I have seen cashiers at the local K-Mart and Wal-Mart shriek and drop a pack of plastic worms or lizards because they slid inside the bag as they picked them up to scan them. I guess they thought they were “alive”! I have even jumped back from the washer or dryer on occasion when I find a “critter” lying among the clothes. It is usually a bait that I had in my own pocket and forgot to remove. Roberto would laugh at me now if he knew his Grandma was scared of a plastic lizard in the washing machine!

Fishing Lesson # 2: Live worms are too wiggly and dirty!

Grandpa loves to fish for small brim to use as live bait for bass fishing in the local ponds. We have a great area behind our house that holds lots of worms. I have been told they are called “turkey” worms, but I have yet to check out that information. It doesn’t really matter what kind of worms they are, they are great fish bait and easy to find if we decide to go fishing on the spur of the moment. Little Roberto is always ready to do whatever grandpa says, so when he says “come with me to get some worms so we can go fishing” Roberto is eager to follow. It is always amusing (to the adults) to see a child’s first reaction to things of nature. Needless to say, he was not impressed with worms and stood back and watched while grandpa tried to convince him they were harmless. Roberto said; “They are too wiggly and dirty Grandpa, you put them in the can.”

Fishing Lesson # 3: Fish aren’t supposed to talk!

That was his reasoning for being afraid of the Bass and Catfish that were hanging on our living room wall. You have to walk past them after you enter our house. Everything was fine until he had a bad dream about them one night. The next day after that dream, he would walk real fast past them to get in and out of the house and he would not turn his back on them, even if he had to walk backwards. He also quit playing in the room that they occupied. Telling him they were toys did not work. Taking the batteries out did not work. We ended up removing the “talking” fish from the wall and hiding them in a closet until he is old enough to understand that they are for amusement only.

Fishing Lesson # 4: Fish hooks are sharp and can cut you!

This is the reason he doesn’t want to try to bait his own hook. How could I argue that point? We are the ones who have taught him to be careful of sharp objects.

Fishing Lesson # 5: Fish bite!

Catching his first fish didn’t impress him as much as it did his grandparents and his Mom and Dad. Mom was taking photos while the rest of us were beaming from ear-to-ear. He was ok with reeling it in, but when asked to hold it, he started yelling his favorite 2-letter word “NO” and no amount of bribery could convince him to get close to it. When asked why he wouldn’t hold it, he promptly told us that “fish bite”. At that moment he reminded me of my youngest sister who was also afraid of fish until she was in her 40’s. Although she loves to fish, she would never touch one without first putting on her infamous “orange” glove: even when fishing tournaments. She has recently overcome her fear of holding a fish with her bare hand, but she still uses that orange glove to get them out of the live-well. I hope Roberto isn’t that old before he finally touches a fish!

Fishing Lesson # 6: You can’t fish after dark!

Most of our fishing opportunities come in the evenings after work. Taking the boat is not always practical, so we do a lot of pond fishing from the bank. Little Roberto is always eager to go with us. He usually sits beside his grandpa and waits to be told when it is time to “reel” in a fish. Occasionally, he will get bored and run down the bank to where I am casting artificial lures to see if I have caught anything yet. As soon as the sun goes down, he lets us know it is time to go home. You are not supposed to fish in the dark. You are supposed to go home, eat supper, take a bath and watch cartoons! Maybe he is afraid one of those “talking” fish will come out of the water and “get” him! What he doesn’t know yet is that grandma is also afraid of the dark and is ready to go home too! If I were to see a snake after dark, he would witness his grandma having a screaming frenzy. Then he would probably never want to go fishing again!

Fishing Lesson # 7: Fishing is fun!

We have been taking Roberto fishing at every opportunity, in hopes that he will connect with the outdoors and become as passionate about fishing as his grandparents. I am so thankful that I inherited my mother’s love of fishing and that she took all her kids fishing at every opportunity during her lifetime. My son and daughter have no desire to fish. I did not get to take my son fishing as a child, but I did take my daughter and I thought she enjoyed it, but I guess she was just trying to “make Mom happy” at the time. Now, she will go with me to take photos of her son learning to fish. Passing my fishing legacy on to little Roberto is teaching me all over again why I love to fish.  He recently turned 4-years-old. What a difference a few months makes in the growth of a child’s mind. Now he plays with plastic lizards and worms and decorates the boat and house with them. He helps his grandpa find the bait worms and will pick them up and put them in the can. He likes to play with them at the pond and let them escape into the dirt until Grandpa tells him they aren’t going to catch any fish if he loses all the bait!. He also likes to play with the small brim that they catch and put in a bucket. He talks to the fish but still wants nothing to do with the “talking” fish that were once on our living room wall. He also likes to go to the fishing truck and find the cookies, drinks and other snacks that Grandma brought along. Now, when we go fishing, he says he will catch the biggest fish. He may just do that one of these days, but for now he is content having fun fishing. He reminds us that fishing is supposed to be fun, just don’t fish after dark!

“Grandma, are there any more cookies in the fishing truck? Your cookies are the best!”