Best Spring EVER!! My 3yr olds first fish

[Ddog]

Well This spring has been awesome so far, got to help rocksteady get a great Bull trout,(his biggest fish ever) that weighed in just over 12lbs, had a few myself but the highlight of it all was being able to bring the family down to a beautiful sandy spot on the Kootenay River, a very kid friendly spot, as we got to the river it was a rather nice spring evening, getting there about 5:30pm just in time to set up the fire pit and get some hotdogs going for the two families that were there.
i cast out the lines and was hoping for a nice fish for my little girls first, something that wasn't to big but just the right size for her to actually fight, as the rod bent with a real heavy bite i called my girl over (Becca) and she came a running and was more than happy to take the rod ( i had to help hold it cause she wasn't quite strong enough to reel and hold the rod.) but it was a great fight as she reeled and screamed and reeled some more, eventually the trout came to the beach nd i have never seen a little girl so happy in all her life, she was screaming and she was yelling at Mike (rocksteady ) to get the bonker so she could bonk it, i gave the fish a good thump first to make sure, then she got the thumper and made sure it was dead so we could eat (her words) she loves to eat the fish its her favourite,
we all had a very good night with good friends and good fishing.
the rest of the pictures are of some trout the family has brought home this spring from the Kootenay river, a fine eating bunch of bull trout.
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d167/DDOGGY/IMG_1157.jpg
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d167/DDOGGY/IMG_1156.jpg
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d167/DDOGGY/IMG_1156.jpg
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d167/DDOGGY/IMG_1141.jpg
more to come.......
then the trout for home
my wifes 10lbs
my daughters 5.5 lbs
and mine in at just over 9
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d167/DDOGGY/IMG_1151.jpg
then after a couple more days i went back to that spot and sat down took a cast and in with a 12.5 lber, pics suck cause nothing to hold the fish against

then a few more days later was down below Wardener on the Kootenay and just hammered the big ones

then it was time to turkey hunt,,

[luckofthedraw]

Great. I have a 3 year old as well, and can't wait for this years first fish.

[The Dawg]

Nice work Daryll! And MinimissDaryll!!

[GoatGuy]

Raising 'em right! Good for you.

[Husky7mm]

Great job Ddog. That whole story brings back some funny memories. My little girls first fish, just a little rainbow just had to get bonked, (we had done in a bunch of squaws earlier that day) anyways she is three at best at the time and as fast as she gets this little trout in she finds a pencil size stick and before anyone even clues in she brakes it over that little fishys head.... Glad your having fun darryl, don't get ate by no bear , and good luck!

[Scuba_Dave]

HAHAHAHA!!! Those are both great stories right there!! I dont have any children yet, but I can still remember my first fish. Me and my dad left early to get a good spot down by the Mission Bridge (also my mom and younger brother could sleep in). We hadnt been there an hour and I thought I had a bite. So I started reeling in, even though my dad was 100% certain there was no way I had a fish...All of a sudden we see this branch coming out of the water, so my father the doubter pipes up "See, told ya, too early just a dead branch". Determined that I had a fish I kept bitching as I pulled this stupid branch in to untangle my line. When I finally got the branch in, low and behold whats laying inside all tangled up? A 12 pound salmon hahaha...My mom and brother got there just as I saw the fish, and got to hear me basically (I was like 5) rubbing my superior fishing skills in my dads face hahaha

[fearnodeer]

Good on you and your daughter, give her a hug for me on her first fish.

[Husky7mm]

Hahaha little kids and fishing that would be a good thread! Before you/they knew about all lifes worries and problems...... Just being a kid and catching a fish! Priceless

[scoutlt1]

How great is that!!!

Congrats! and well done with your daughter. The best thing for kids is to get them out there enjoying the outdoors!


Good job, and nice fish too! :-)

[5 spike]

Thats great very nice fish and what a first fish. congrats

[375 ultramag]

Way to go, Thats the way to make memory's that will last forever. ......for you and your daughter. Congrats

[Ruger4]

awesome job Daryl , any signs of g-bears in them there sandbars ?

[rocksteady]

Thanks to you Daryl...It was excellent learning a new skill (slowly mind you) on how to catch big bull trout....

The family bbq's on the beach were a blast, now I can hardly wait for the river to go down again so we get back at it...

Was great watching your daughter trying to bonk that 6 or so lb fish....

[Ddog]

then after a couple more days i went back to that spot and sat down took a cast and in with a 12.5 lber, pics suck cause nothing to hold the fish against
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d167/DDOGGY/IMG_1161.jpg
then a few more days later was down below Wardener on the Kootenay and just hammered the big ones
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d167/DDOGGY/IMG_0403.jpg
then it was time to turkey hunt,,
The turkey hunting was the same as it has been for the past 6 yrs,,,Awesome!!
all of you that have not done it i suggest you do because it a so outstanding calling these massive birds in and letting them have it when they are in full glory!
Rocksteady and i had a grab opening morning , although no birds were killed we sure saw some good toms just didn't come into the shotgun range , but were that ever gobbling at us. second morning was the same as the first but i was able to put down a great tom at the 20lb mark he was a beauty!
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d167/DDOGGY/IMG_1199-1.jpg
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d167/DDOGGY/IMG_1202-1.jpg
Now it was time to get back to fishing!! the turkey deed was done

[Ddog]

Well now that the turkey was dead it was back to the kootenay river for more of the big bulls, boy they are sure a good eating fish, just full of fat to the likes i have never seen before, these fish have so much fat in them you can't even see the actual guts cause the fat engulfed them.
the first pic is of a nice fat 8lber in my sink, notice i have not actually cleaned the black line out of this fish yet
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d167/DDOGGY/IMG_1155.jpg
then a few more pics of some more bulls, i released on average 5-7 a night as big or bigger than the ones i kept, i always keep the first one in that is at least 8 lbs then catch and release the rest of the day or evening, sometimes it sucked letting the real big ones go but as long as i had a good one on the beach i was alright with it.
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d167/DDOGGY/IMG_1164.jpghttp://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d167/DDOGGY/IMG_1167.jpg
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d167/DDOGGY/IMG_1167.jpg
this big bull trout was close to the 17lb mark and boy did he battle good before being released!!
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d167/DDOGGY/IMG_1228.jpg

[The Dawg]

Its a rough life you've got there buddy ;)

Ill have to try and make it down there for gobblers next year. Ill bring the beer :)

[BimmerBob]

Pretty tough to have to live in an area so devoid of fish and wildlife! Great job, sweet memories!

[Ddog]

ya,, its tough living in the Kootenays for sure, theres never anything to do especially when i get home at 11 in the morning and have the whole day to try and find something to do.

[Ddog]

heres Mike's big boy, he's already posted this pic
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d167/DDOGGY/IMG_1114.jpg

and my daughters first one!! Notice how happy she is, she loves to fish and wants so badly to go get a deer so we can eat it,(her words)
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d167/DDOGGY/IMG_1154.jpg

[kennyj]

Fantastic fish! You're having way to much fun. Love the photos.
kenny