Pole to Plate

The last time I went fishing was over 15 years ago with my Grandfather off the coast of New Orleans in the Gulf. The last time John fished was on a weekend in college at his buddies lake house. For about a year now we have been talking about taking the kids out fishing, but it was not until we were here in Florida at John's Grandparents house and saw Papa Chan's fishing poles did we finally take the plunge. With our Grandfather's spirits in our hearts, we took two poles and some shrimp for bait and headed out to the river.

John was much more comfortable setting up the poles and showing the kids what to do at first. I figured I would just sit back and watch everyone else have fun, but I had to give it a try. What do you know, I caught a fish!  I actually caught a few and didn't want to stop when it was time to go. I see why people love it so much.

Then Pilot caught one......(a funny side note: the fish Pilot is holding is called a Pig Fish. When we were taking out the hook to throw it back it made the funniest grunting noise that sounded just like a pig. Hence the name. It was really funny to hear.)

Then Jetta caught one fish.......two fish.......

And then she caught a great big Catfish!

The next challenge was ahead of us. Cleaning the fish. I let John do the honors.

 I think he did a great job!

The kids got some fresh herbs and seasoned their catch.....

And it was a great meal. We all enjoyed the whole experience.
 I think we are definitely "hooked" to this fishing thing.