Fishing on Mantua Lake

Aunika caught the first fish.
Max did such a good job on the boat!
Kalia caught the biggest fish.
Ewww.. It was too slimey.
Bart and Max chillin' in the shade.Caleb eyeing the water...

We got to take our nieces Kalia and Aunika fishing this weekend and they both caught their first fish. Caleb even caught his first fish! (Bart held the rod and Caleb reeled it in.) He was repulsed by the fish and wouldn't touch it. :) We had a little picnic on the beach afterwards. Caleb wouldn't go out and play in the water until he saw a cute little two year old girl by us and he followed her in. What does that mean?? We mostly caught bluegill and Kalia caught a bass. It was really fun.

Saturday Afternoon Fishing with the Matas

I didn't go fishing two weeks ago, instead I spent some time with my family and cleaned out the garage. I didn't plan on going this last week since we had the Osmond family reunion, but Lori said I did a good job helping out and she didn't care if I went fishing since the kids were napping. So I decided to go to Newton Resevoir again and invite the Matas this time. We had fun, despite the hot weather. The picture above is my niece, Malia. She really didn't fish- she mostly wanted to swim, which she did off the side of the boat. She was pretty good for not having a whole lot to do. I'm glad we had the bimini top to keep the sun off her.

I recently installed some side bumbers on my trailer which made it really nice to launch the boat myself-no more drifting off center in the wind or waves. I had a blunder though launching it myself this trip-I forgot to put the drain plug in! You wouldn't think water could come into a 1 inch hole so fast, but it does! Rather than fumble trying to put in the drain plug and bilge the water out, I just motored back up on the trailer and pulled it out. It took a while for it to drain out. I had already motored ashore and was about to park the truck before I noticed the floor was getting wet. I don't think I will make the same mistake again.

I was glad to have the Matas come. It is nice to be able to invite others along to go fishing. Newton was extremely crowded with skiers and wakeboarders, so we just stayed in my favorite cove. We caught a few little crappie and I had a nice bass on from a maribou jig tipped with a crawler. I was too lazy to get the net out though and I snapped the line trying to pull it in. Serves me right. I think if I go fishing again soon I will go to Mantua or Pineview resevoir, just to try a new place. Hope to post another outdoor adventure again soon.

The biggest perch of the batch!

The picture doesn't do the size of this perch justice:)

Newton Sardines!

Newton Reservoir didn't leave us skunked but the size of the fish were lacking! We had fun though!

Naming of the boat. Meet "Gene".

The boat we got is a 1996 Crestliner Fishhawk 16sc, so it is a 16 footer. It has a 40 horse Mercury that is oil injected, a foot control trolling motor, a marine radio, fishfinder, steering counsel, and a bimini top. When I saw it, I immediately wanted to get it and Lori agreed as well(she was just happy that it wasn't a motorcycle). It had enough room for the family, priced right and deep enough that Caleb wasn't going to fall out. Lori said it should be named, "Bart's Indulgence", but I think it should be named "Generation" for the next generation of fishermen we are raising. Or we could call it "Gene", short for generation. Lori said she is going to call her "Genie", because it is granting my wishes. Either way, I'm glad we have it. I think I'm going to stick with "Gene" short for Generation. The name is actually inspired by a man who paddled past us in the back waters while fishing. He said, "I see you're raising the next generation of great fishermen". So meet "Gene".

Also Caleb's first fishing trip.

Caleb got to hold his first fishing pole- I let him use my ice fishing pole. He wanted to cast and real it in right away. A couple of times Caleb wanted to lean over the edge of the boat to the point of falling in. Lori was good about catching him and explaining that he would fall in and get wet. I wanted to just let him fall in and learn the hard way, good thing for moms. We couldn't have asked for a better day though. It was a lot of fun.

First Family Outing on the Boat.

Caleb was so excited when we told him we were going out on the boat in the morning, he exclaimed, "Wow!" and huried to get ready. He had a big grin on his face when we left the dock too, saying "We go so fast!" Max was pretty good and slept for a good portion. His little infant life vest smooshed his cheeks but he didn't fuss at all. Lori did the bulk of the work by keeping them happy. She really appreciated the bimini top, so everyone could stay out of the sun.