This article appeared in last month’s Field N Forest Magazine. A COSTUME FIT FOR AN ANGLER
A seven-year-old is rarely a veteran of anything.
But my son, Craig, is a veteran angler. He’s tagged along on family fishing trips since age three. He uses the lingo and tells fish tales like a pro, explaining Grandpa’s definition of “cookie jar” to anyone who will listen. “That’s where we fill our limit if the walleye aren’t biting anywhere else.”
On winter weekends he climbs out of bed — canopied with commercial fishnet and set in a camouflaged johnboat — at 5 AM to wake my husband. He wants to get to the shack in time for the crappie bite.
And for Christmas one year, he received a quality fishing reel from Grandpa. While the extended family watched with the ignorance of non-anglers, Craig went ballistic. “It’s a Shimano 2000!!” he screamed. “Dad, that’s even better than yours!!”
On October 31 last year, our family worked desperately to complete a huge remodeling project before the winter cold hit. We felt lucky to get kids fed and to school on time, let alone prepare for trick or treating festivities. Left to his own devices, Craig chose a better, and more appropriate outfit than I could have produced. He would go has his true self —a fishing guide in the making.
He bundled up and disappeared into the garage to dig through a Rubbermaid container of supplies, stored since we started the house project. Then he emerged minutes later with a getup that would have made Babe Winkelman proud. Dad’s mesh-shouldered life jacket fit over the padded flannel jacket, his khaki cap covered his brow, and a tackle box rounded out the outfit.
And where did he collect his candy? Why, in the minnow bucket, of course.
It was our first year in this community, and our Halloween excursion was the best ever. We pulled into the lit driveways of our lakeshore neighbors and rolled down the frosty windows to listen. While trick or treaters came and went from the doorways, anxious to move on to the next stash of candy, Craig stayed and chatted with the residents. He confidently introduced himself, like the future guide I know he’ll be and his gap-toothed grin broadened when they showed obvious approval of his costume. Then I heard a round of giggling as Craig held open his minnow screen for the sweet morsels.
I overheard one homeowner ask him, “So where are the fish biting?” And a grumpy Craig scowled, “I don’t know, all we do is work on the house.” Clearly the man understood this all-too-well and I saw him nod with an expression that he’d been there before.
The winter months bring peace to these parts, and we don’t see many seasonal residents, but I know that in May, our lakeshore fishermen and women will recognize this
miniature angler and welcome him to the folds. It was a great way to join this cabin community. The remodeling project is coming to an end, but I’ll leave the costume assembly to him again this year.
Who knows? Maybe this time he’ll be a brain surgeon.
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6:55 pm
So cute!!
7:59 pm
Very sweet!
and the costume looks great!!
8:21 pm
Very funny! He’s so adorable!
11:07 pm
the costume was great, the post was great.
I ate Walleye for the first time this summer when my son-in-law came back from Minnesota. It was the BEST!!!
Jammin’, my five year old grandson, already has the fishing gene, too. Mostly salmon and steelhead – but if he ever goes with grandpa, then they’ll be looking for bass.
4:38 am
What a great costume! That’s funny! Love the hat, the minnow bucket, and Curt’s obvious happy grin! Great post.
Here’s my PTT post.
6:47 am
What a mature young man!! You have one good dude on your hand Kelly!
7:29 am
Love the costume! And the story!
I’m submitting my post, Little Sacrifices, for this week’s Pass the Torch Tuesday. Thanks!
9:36 am
A) Very cute costume! Love it.
B) I am playing PTT today! You can find my entry at http://donttrythisathome.typepad.com/justdont/2006/10/bragging_on_my_.html
12:32 pm
What a cute costume!
3:23 pm
Very creative. My pictures are up, too.
10:36 pm
I posted a Halloween edition for PTT.
~Leslie
2:30 am
[...] Pass The Torch [...]
2:57 am
So cute… he looks like quite the young man.
4:27 pm
Very cute, you can tell he really liked his costume :O)
10:52 pm
[...] And VOTING IS OPEN for Kailani’s costume contest, we submitted Curt’s fisherman costume from last year. Please send me some love over there. Filed In: Kids 4 Responses to “Halloween Love” [...]
12:05 am
What an adorable costume! Very fitting for him, apparently. His left-to-himself costume came out quite a bit different (and better) than Drama Queen’s!
8:03 am
A costume fit for an angler
FUN costume for a fishing-fanatic kid. And easy to put together, as long as you have fishing equipment!
9:03 pm
[...] Comments Beth/Mom2TwoVikings on Like my new look?Sandra Foyt on Like my new look?Anonymous on A costume fit for an anglerAnonymous on Pumpkin Surgeryella on Like my new [...]
9:06 am
Very cute!