Pappa Roach

The title of this blog is actually a nice little play on words and not a direct reference to the nu metal band that made it big in the 90's. You see there is one outdoor activity which has never ever appealed to me. That activity is fishing. Personally I can't imagine anything quite as boring as sitting by the side of a river or lake and just waiting for a fish to bite only to throw it back into the water again. Whats the point? However for some reason both Joshua and Brandon seem to be fascinated by fishing which means I have to go fishing. Oh the ups and downs of being a parent. One day I am sitting in the Olympic Stadium watching Usain Bolt, the next I am sitting over Wick Park trying to catch fish!

 

At the weekend both the boys bought themselves a roach pole to go fishing with. I think they are too young for a full fishing rod set, but a roach pole is just perfect as it is a complete set, simple to use, ready to go and minimal fuss. Even with my very limited fishing experience I managed to set up the roach poles and within no time at all the boys had some sweetcorn hooked up as bait and were experiencing their first real fishing.

Joshua casting off with his roach pole and waiting for a bite.

Brandon seemed to struggle holding the long pole up for long periods, but still managed to cast off and fish just fine.

All smiles as Little B fishes.

Within no time at all Brandon got the first catch of the day with a little roach, I was kind of dreading this moment as it meant I had to try and get the hook out of the fishes mouth which is something I have never done, and wasn't really sure the correct way to go about it. However I managed to unhook the fish and was absolutely amazed that Brandon was dead keen to hold the fish once I had unhooked it, and then to throw it back into the lake. Joshua initially wanted to know whether we could take the fish home as pets!

 

How can I deny the boys some fishing when you see Brandon's happy little face with his first catch.

It wasn't long before Joshua then pulled in his own roach, slightly smaller than Brandon's one. The real surprise here though was that Joshua was a bit squeamish when it came to holding the fish! This is a little boy that picks up worms, snails, spiders, etc.etc., scared to hold a little fish. So there was only one thing for it - hand it to his little brother who was dead keen and wanted yet another picture taken.

 

Little B with Joshua's first catch.

A close up of the beautiful little roach showing its yellow eyes and orange fins.

Once the boys got the hang of fishing there was absolutely no stopping them. I think in the end they caught something like 6 or 7 roach and I pretty much had to drag them away from the lake kicking and screaming. It was a very hot day and we had taken no drinks or food plus Brandon was desperate for the toilet - but they just didn't care. All they wanted to do was catch more fish!

Brandon with yet another catch, A bit slimy and a few scales came off in his hand.

The roach poles work really well but every now and then they do get a bit tangled up and both boys really need supervision whilst fishing (if nothing else to keep hooking up more bait for them). I found it very hard to juggle between the two of them at the same time and quickly learnt that we needed to put one of the poles away and get them sharing one pole between them. Once they are a bit more independent and competent I can probably manage both boys at the same time with two poles, however for now we will keep to just having one pole at a time and sharing. I also had a few scary moments where one of them would whip their pole out of the water with no warning and suddenly a hook is flying towards my head or embedded in my hand (ouch!).

 

Joshua was really settling into the lifestyle of a fisherman.