Son’s first fish provides lifelong lesson in humility for Dad

My son David’s birthday is this week, and it reminded me of a fishing trip with him when he was only about 4 years old. It still humbles and challenges me when I think about how wrong this “so-called expert” was that day.

I took David to Millerton with the hope of him catching his first fish. We were floating down the river flowing into the lake, me working the trolling motor upfront and David standing in the boat behind me. He was using a 5-foot, light spinning rod that I had set up with a Mepps spinner. It was an easy rig to cast and the little bass always seemed to like the lure. I hoped the breakthrough with his first ever all by himself fish was going to be a slam dunk. I think I was more excited.

We had gone about 200-300 yards with no strikes when I saw a back eddy I thought must hold a hungry spotted bass looking for a meal. The area had been full of aggressive little spots for the past week.

“Cast right over there,” I told David. He wound up and let fly, but the lure went flying to the left and over a jagged piece of granite sticking out from shore. I was going to have to maneuver the boat in close around the rock pile to retrieve the lure.

Suddenly, he says, “Dad , I’ve got a fish!” What? I see his line going over the rock, where it’s probably hooked on a branch that’s moving when he pulls.

“David, it can’t be a fish, you’re over a rock and it just feels like a fish.”

Big crocodile tears run down his face. “Dad, I know I have a fish!”

This was serious now, he was upset and I was telling him in so many words that he was making things up. He was too young for big fishing stories like his dad told! This wasn’t going like I planned.

Finally, I can see the other side of the rock. Unbelievably, there’s a half-pound spotted bass hanging there with David’s lure in its mouth. It’s halfway out of the 3-inch-deep water.

“I told you I had a fish on, Dad!” he said with a big smile.

Have you ever had to eat crow then follow that up with a second course of humble pie? Neither go down well. I didn’t even try to explain why Dad had messed up, and I apologized to David for not believing him.

It was David’s first fish, and I’ve never seen anything like it again. Every time I’m pretty sure I know something, I stop and consider how wrong I can be. If I didn’t know better, I would say someone set me up to teach me a life lesson about humility.

Happy birthday, David. Never give up – Dad.

This story was originally published June 2, 2020 at 1:19 PM with the headline "Son’s first fish provides lifelong lesson in humility for Dad."