By Jason Say, Owner Pennsylvania Sportsmen Portal

It was a gorgeous afternoon and my wife was working the night shift, while I was on kid duty.  I have one son, Colin who is 4 and will turn 5 this May.  I have never had him out fishing before and I plan on this summer taking him to a small lake or pond to catch a bunch of sunfish and bluegills.  I couldn’t handle it though, I just had to get out and fish and Colin was coming with me!

I chose a small stream that has a really nice path where I could fish and keep an eye on him at all times.  Lets just say that Colin, like most 4 year olds, is very active.

We brought along his tonka truck, which ended up in the water more than me and some food that we could snack on.  We started on the stream at 4:00 pm and we were not there more than 5 minutes and – you guessed it – “I have to poop”.  Knowing that we didn’t have time to get to the truck and someplace to go, as most fisherman know, you always carry some toliet paper with you. This however, was Colin’s first time going in the woods and he was not real keen on it. I told him, if he is going to hunt and fish, he better get used to it.

Once that ordeal was over, we were actually able to do some fishing.  I only caught two fish that night and the first one was a nice brown trout.  The entire time I was reeling it in, Colin was saying, “This is awesome daddy, it is a real big one!”

The second fish I hooked up with was a rainbow and Colin happened to be standing right beside me, so I let him reel it in. He was smiling from ear to ear.  He absolutely loved it, and so did I.  As a new father, I know that this is a particular instance in my life that I will cherish as long as I live.  Fortunately, I had my camera with me and was able to capture these moments on film.  These photos will remain on my wall for all time and I will never forget my son’s first fish.

Note:  Both fish were released to catch another day!