Fishing on Shoshone River

Vance was determined to catch a fish in Wyoming. We made several trips without a lot of luck. The conditions were working against us because of a late runoff, but we had a good time trying. It was beautiful there and except for some wind (go figure--wind in Wyoming!!) the weather was great!

McKaylie, our little fishing-girl Vance--trying to be patient Myshel--our not so fishing girl Vance--still trying Noah--trying his luck Chad--showing them how it's done I love this picture of the 4 of themVance was very determined He was even willing to get wet All his hard work paid off in the end. On the last morning out he caught a nice fish! Yay!Just over 15 inchesHere it is, with my very proud boy, getting ready to go in the pan . . . . . Grandma Jo helped cook it for Vance. We all got a little taste, which was plenty of trout for me! I'm proud of Vance for hanging in there and not giving up! I'm also very glad he caught at least one fish!

Fishing with Dad

When Chad was home we, of course, went to the river to fish. The kids didn't get hardly any minnows that time, but they had their best day ever catching fish with their poles. It was still fun, even though the fish were really small. It's not like we keep them to eat anyway!

Vance caught: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Chad caught (Noah reeled it in) 1 2Maybe dad was just the good luck charm.

This Week . . . .

Well, I've made a mistake . . . now that I've taken the kids to the river to fish, they expect me to go everyday!!!! They're wearing me out! This week has been a little crazy, between the kids activities and a migraine, I'm wiped out today! Here's some pictures from our recent fishing trips this week. Noah, with a little froggy buddy they caught just after we got there. They all played with him right up until we left ---- including putting it on mom's arm while she was reading ---- not funny! The only fish Vance has managed to catch with his fishing pole. It's not huge, but was still fun.The bigger fish is the one he caught with his pole the others were caught in the minnow trap. Myshel will fish for, oh, about 5 minutes~ The boys adding minnows to the bucket. They discovered today that bread is the best bait of all for them! Looks deep doesn't it. It's only about 2 feet deep out where Vance and Myshel are and about a foot, foot and a half where Noah is. They have a lot of fun swimming out there. (McKaylie was at a friend's house---I didn't leave her out of the pictures) I love this picture of the crane. He came and landed a few feet from us, looked around and then flew away. I was really excited that this picture came out!

Chad's doing good. The galley just passed their first big inspection since Chad's been there (and in charge) So that's great for him. His first week on the ship he ran into a pipe walking through a p-way (passageway) and cut his forehead. He sent a recent picture of it and it's looking much better. The first one isn't a great picture, but if you click on the second you can get a better look at his new scar! I don't think he'll ever live that down. He said the guys call him Scarface!

Myshel and Vance have to be at the church tomorrow morning at 5:15 AM for a temple trip!! Ugh!!! That early morning stuff is suppose to be Chad's job!

Fishing for Minnows . . .

Since Vance discovered last time that the minnows were such great bait, he's been itching to go back to the river and try to catch some more minnows to fish with. This time he came better prepared. He went online to see how to make a minnow trap. It was super easy, just a 2 littler bottle cut in half and then take the top of the bottle and stick it inside the bottom half, so that the opening you normally drink out is inside the bottom half of the bottle. I have to admit I was skeptical about how well it would work. The theory is that it works a lot like a lobster trap. The minnows swim in through the little hole and then it's harder for them to find their way out through that little hole. So, we went down to the river, Vance armed with two traps.He set them in two different spots. One he left alone for about 15 minutes, the other he kept messing with (McKaylie and Noah, too). When he checked on the trap that he set and left alone he was very, very excited. He'd caught 3 minnows and I thought that was cool, a little amazed that it worked, but cool. So he runs over to show me. I'm totally expecting 3 little tiny fish and was shocked to see 3 different sized fish, one was about 2 inches long and skinny, the second about 2 inches long, but fatter and the 3rd was a good 4 inches long and pretty big---not exactly what I'd consider a minnow, really. I couldn't believe it. I'm not even sure really how the big one got through the little hole either.Needless to say, Vance wouldn't use them for bait. They've now been adopted by my 3 youngest children and are living in a tub in the back yard. (the one that the frogs took a swim in the other day) He did manage to catch one more little minnow and used it for bait, hooked a fish, but it ate his little minnow and took off.Vance isn't discouraged is even more determined now. He came home and made several more traps and is dying to get back to the river to try them out. At this rate, we'll have a whole school of fish in that tub by the end of the summer.

If You Listened to Your Mom.....

You would have worn tennis shoes instead of sandals when you went fishing!
And you wouldn't have one broken toe and a whole lot of pain! Poor Vance!He tripped when he was walking up the rocky bank while he was fishing with Chad. The first night it didn't look too bad, but the next morning it looked terrible. It's not the best picture, but his entire toe is black and blue and swollen. The bruise continues over the top of his foot, about 2 inches!

Chad took Vance Fishing........

And look who caught the fish!!!!Chad said this was probably the biggest fish he's ever caught! It's a striper and they he caught it on the Androscroggin River. Vance didn't even get a bite.....