Fishing Lessons
a Saturday story
If you’re new to the First Light Substack, don’t be alarmed. Saturdays are a little different. They’re a chance to catch up on your Bible reading—or take a break if you’re already ahead. I like to use Saturdays to share stories from life. They’re all true, at least as best as I can remember. Time has a way of sanding off the details and sometimes layering in a little fiction, but the heart of it is always honest. I hope these stories spark a few memories of your own.
Lately, I’ve been thinking I ought to take up fishing again. A few of my grandsons have taken to it, and that’s reason enough. But it also stirs up a lot of good memories from my own life—many of them tied to a rod and reel.
The first time I remember picking up a fishing rod was when we lived in Elko, Nevada. I hated living there, to be honest. But even I had to admit—it was beautiful country. We lived just outside of town, southeast of the city, halfway between Elko and the Ruby Mountains. Out the back door of our green single-wide trailer, you could see the Ruby range plain as day.
It was a short drive from our place to the Ruby Marshes and to a number of small lakes and streams alive with largemouth bass, and rainbow, tiger, brown, brook, and cutthroat trout. That part of the world is an outdoorsman’s paradise. My complaints about Elko had nothing to do with the fishing, but that’s a story for another day.
Now, my dad was not a patient man. So when he decided it was time for my brothers and me to learn how to fish, he came up with a plan designed to keep his frustration to a minimum. He bought each of us identical Shakespeare spinning reels. Not as tricky as a baitcasting or fly reel, but they still take some learning.
If you’re not careful, you can quickly end up with what’s called a “bird’s nest”—when the lure hits the water and stops, but the reel keeps spinning, spewing out line that piles up in a tangled mess. And when you're a boy and your dad is nearby, you naturally hand him the rod and expect him to fix it.
Now, imagine being that dad—with three boys, all new to spinning reels, all likely to end up with a bird’s nest. You can see the problem.
But Dad’s solution was actually pretty smart.
He set out coffee cans in the yard. Then he told us: when you can cast a weight into the can from a decent distance—without creating a bird’s nest—I’ll take you fishing. We had our fair share of tangles at first, but we had to untangle them ourselves. Bit by bit, with practice and a little trial and error, all three of us learned to cast clean and straight.
So, if you’re thinking about teaching your own kids or grandkids how to fish with a spinning reel, there you go. Set out a few coffee cans. Let them learn the hard way—just a little. It’ll make the fishing all the sweeter.
Funny you mention the infamous “birds nest” as I just experienced several of these little trouble makers a couple weeks ago. I was invited to join up with my daughter’s family, her husband and 3 of my grandsons. I arrived at the city lake on a very windy day….I mean VERY windy day. But the weather was warm and it was a chance to enjoy some grandpa time with them. As I arrived to the usual spot where they go, I noticed how the wind was blowing right into the bank. Two of the boys were on the opposite side of the small cove and one was playing along the bank look for whatever exploring boys look for. Mom was looking quite bewildered by the small real on the new fish pole of the one playing attempting fix whatever was wrong with. Grandpa to the rescue as I quickly worked with the real to get it working again and explaining how the drag should be set if one wanted to catch a fish while allowing a little play. Casting into the wind was a chore with the light weight, bobber and half a worm. The line quickly came back to the bank and it continued. This was not quiet peaceful fishing for the patient grandpa. By this time the other two grandsons arrived with their gear, one a spinning real and a gobbledy-goop mess of line. Grandpa to the rescue again, again explaining while attempting to fix the situation. I quickly decided for the nest to be cut out of the line and re-string it. After the work was done, I needed to give it a test (into the wind). You guessed it….immediate birds nest and a repeat fix. The time spent with them was worth it even though not much fishing was accomplished.