Photo By: Hanna Perry

This story was inspired by the fishing trips that I used to take when I was little with my dad so that is why this story his dedicated to my father.

It was a beautiful spring afternoon in May, and Hazel and her father were on their way down to Silvertree Lake to go fishing. Her father had recently purchased his small fishing boat from an old man named Charlie, who was no longer using it. The boat was white with a blue stripe painted along its side. Hazel’s dad named the boat Eleanor after her grandmother, and much like her grandma, the boat was sometimes very stubborn. Sometimes, Hazel’s father had a difficult time getting the boat to start because it was so old, but eventually, the engine would start, and the two of them would be off on another great adventure.

As the little boat started, Hazel smiled at her dad as he drove the boat into a nearby cove, which had become one of their favorite fishing spots. Hazel and her dad had been fishing together since she was little, and it seemed as though one of them always ended up catching a fish. One thing that Hazel could always count on her father to do for her was baiting her fishing hook. Her dad was always afraid that Hazel would hurt herself if she baited her hook, so it was nice that her dad always did it for her. Hazel also didn’t like touching the slimy, brownish-pink worms because she didn’t like getting her hands dirty.

Hazel and her father both cast their fishing poles out, hoping that one of them might catch something. Hazel’s favorite type of fish to catch was catfish because whenever they caught them, they always ended up eating them for dinner. After a short time had passed, Hazel and her dad both felt a tug on their fishing lines, and suddenly, they were both reeling in their first catch of the day. Hazel’s dad caught a bluegill, and Hazel ended up catching a catfish.

After fishing for a few hours, it was time for the two of them to eat lunch. Hazel had packed a picnic lunch for the two of them in the green cooler they had had since she was little, consisting of turkey and Swiss cheese sandwiches, granola bars, potato chips, chocolate chip cookies, and bottled water. One of her father’s and her favorite things about their fishing trips was having a picnic lunch on their boat and talking about life and the fish that they had caught.

Altogether, Hazel and her father ended up catching six decent-sized fish, which meant that for dinner, they would be having fish, mashed potatoes, and macaroni and cheese. But before they went back home for the night, as they sat on the dock, the two of them caught a beautiful pink and orange sunset over the lake. As the sun set over the lake, Hazel was grateful for moments like this that she got to share with her dad.

This was written by our editor-in-chief and founder, Hanna Perry.