We woke to an overcast and gloomy start to the day with temperatures in the mid-to-upper 60s. With highs last week reaching 100 this was a chilly but welcome change. Farmer Mike and I started off our day over a steaming cup of coffee and discussing the list of things needing to be done on the farmstead.
It's not too often that work and play intersect, but for us, we find that sweet spot in the form of fishing. You might wonder in this Modern Age how fishing is considered work when it is almost always done for recreation; however on the farmstead, fish is an important alternative meat source for us.
We launched our little boat just after lunch into the semi-choppy waters of our favorite local fishing hole. (I can't disclose the location because, what kind of Fisherwoman would I be if I gave away all my secrets?) We haven't been fishing for weeks because the hot temperatures mean the fish aren't as active. Also the garden is at its peak gobbling up every free minute of our time. So the pups were very eager to hit the water.
After circling the waters a few times to find just the right spot, we choose our bait and cast. The preliminary results were good: a nibble on just the first cast...a few more casts and "Fish on!" With the whizzing sound of the reel, the pups were instantly at my side, tails wagging, ready to jump into the water and help wrestle the mammoth into the boat if I but said the word. No need though, it was but a large sunfish of the Pumpkin Seed variety. Next into the boat was one of the many Large Mouth Bass caught today by Farmer Mike. A few Bass and sunfish more for me and we were starting to wind down.
The pups were getting a little bored by this point, so we opened the live-well hatch to provide some puppertainment. Logan was studying the fish very closely, his eyes locked on to their slim profiles from above and in one fluid movement he dove into the live-well and pulled out the Perch. Farmer Mike quickly scooped up the fish and put it safely back into the live-well. With that, large drops of rain started falling from the sky and called our day of fishing to an end.
While we tossed back quite a few fish that weren't quite big enough, we still came home with some much appreciated fresh meat to stock our freezer for the upcoming months. We all had fun and all got to catch something - except for Kayla. Better luck next time Baby Girl!
What a great way to make our own sunshine on a cloudy day.
~Farmer Amy
<- This was Logan's catch