Family Fishing Trip - Take Me Fishing

For the past week I've been on a family fishing trip.

For the past week I've been on a family fishing trip. We didn't go to an exotic location visited by very few anglers (though that would have been cool!). Instead, we hauled our boat to the public ramp that is three miles from our driveway. After a short wait in the launch line we splashed and then cast off our lines for a five mile run to our favorite flat.

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The seas were calm, the winds were a light-variable SSW, and the striped bass and bluefish were everywhere we looked. We caught 'em up! Well, that is only partly true. My wife Angela and daughter Morgan did the catching. By the time I released Angela's fish it was time to release Morgan's, and that's pretty much how it went all day and all week. I ran the boat and found the fish, and they put the boots to them. It was perfect.

Our past winter was brutal, and the frigid, wet weather carried over into our early season. Weather and water temperatures were cold, winds were stiff, and rain was frequent. The fishing conditions were difficult and the catching was minimal. Angela and Morgan logged a lot of time on the water, and now their patience paid off.

The hammer time made those early season days seem so far away. When we first found a big school of bass the gals were a bit rusty. They wanted to put fish in the boat so badly that they set the hooks too early or even too late. When they relaxed a bit they started catching fish on every cast, and they were laughing again. Angela and Morgan earned a great day.

A good day on the water brought us all closer together. We forgot about all the small things that stress us out and cause us friction. Our family fishing trip gave us a common bond. For that time we weren't parents and child or husband and wife. We were fishing buddies out to conquer the seas. For me, fishing with family is one of my life's greatest pleasures.

We're back to work and chores and other obligations, but I can guarantee this; when the Mercury drops to negative 40 I'll think back to this week. These memories will warm me for sure. I couldn't be happier.

To plan a day on the water with your family check for this fishing with your family.

Tom Keer

Tom Keer is an award-winning writer who lives on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. He is a columnist for the Upland Almanac, a Contributing Writer for Covey Rise magazine, a Contributing Editor for both Fly Rod and Reel and Fly Fish America, and a blogger for the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation’s Take Me Fishing program. Keer writes regularly for over a dozen outdoor magazines on topics related to fishing, hunting, boating, and other outdoor pursuits. When they are not fishing, Keer and his family hunt upland birds over their three English setters. His first book, a Fly Fishers Guide to the New England Coast was released in January 2011. Visit him at www.tomkeer.com or at www.thekeergroup.com.