"I CAN'T THINK OF A BETTER WAY TO PASS THE TIME OF DAY"

Do you have favorite memories of catching your first fish? or the time you spent outdoors with those you love even if the fish weren't biting?

My daughters had a chance to finally fish with Papa, which they had anticipated for a long, long time. He fishes for Marlin, Big Tuna and other fightin' fish, but this day was special as he was fishing with them!

It didn't matter that the catch and release were only tiny bluegill or crappie, they had a blast being outside with Papa on the dock at Claytor Lake State Park. The best part of the whole experience was watching my daughter squirm more than the worm she was putting on the hook! "eeeeeeew!" I think were her exact words.

"It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog" --Mark Twain

Papa shows us how to cast

Papa says "You can't catch any fish without your line in the water!"

Teenager baiting the hook with a worm

Success!

I never knew the lyrics to the Andy Griffith show theme song, but just found them so here they are (the original was sung by Andy himself):

Coincidentally, Mount Airy which is Andy Griffith's home place on which he based the little town of Mayberry, is just 1 hour 10 minutes from two of our favorite state parks, Claytor Lake State Park! Click here for a Google Map, and only 30 minutes from New River Trail State Park! Click here for Google Map.

I hope you can get outside and head down to your favorite fishin' hole soon! It is fun for the whole family. Virginia State Parks has a few fishin' holes from the Mountains to the seashore...click here for a map of all 35 State Parks.