Camping with the Grandkids

Instead of heading to a great Canada fishing location with my two adult (?) children, we headed to Tionesta Lake to camp with the grandsons. (This isn’t sexist. There are no granddaughters.) My fourth fishing trip to be cancelled due to Covid concerns (that is a thing now) turned out to be a blessing. Searching for an alternative, we settled on a family trip, hoping that next year we can get that Canada trip in.

The boys love their Aunt Lissa, so to be able to spend three days and two nights with her was probably the highlight of the trip for them, and for her, too, I would bet. She drove in from Long Island, after getting tested for the virus. She refused to return home until she was tested, not wanting to jeopardize the health of any of us.

We arrived early Thursday morning at the Lake and spent the next few hours setting up camp. Tents, cots, air mattresses, cooking areas, and floats for the lake were all prepared and ready to go by the afternoon. We took the pontoon as well as my fishing boat and in the afternoon we picked up my wife and daughter-in-law for the day. After some swimming and a fire, we took them back. They would return the next day with Chris’ brother-in-law, his son and his mother. This way we could all enjoy the lake and the fire, even if everybody could not (or would not) stay in a tent. I guess lake baths and open air toiletry are not for everybody. Oh well.

We managed some fishing for panfish during the mornings and late evenings, but the days were all hot and sunny, so shade sitting or swimming were our activities of choice.

The middle grandson handled the pontoon boat well and the oldest grandson, who just went into 7th grade, learned to handle the fishing boat. One morning I asked him if he could back the boat off the beach and handle the trip. With a sharp nod of his head and a “Yep!” he put on my hat (the driver’s hat, as he called it), and I pushed us off. Immediately he told me to put on my life jacket and sit down so he could get started. He is a good learner!

We trolled for awhile, but we had to pack to head home so I asked him if he wanted to troll a little more or go to the 4 muskies spot and cast. He chose casting. On his third cast, he calmly said, “Hey Pop, I have something.” When I looked back a fish was airborne and my first response was “Muskie”. But that is always my first response, which is born of hope. But I immediately knew it was not. It was a bass, and by the bend in his rod, I knew it was a big bass, at least for our area. He fought it for several minutes, the right thing to do because the ultralight rod that I built for him was not going to force the action. When he got the fish near the boat, I saw that it was bigger than I thought and I was not going to be able to haul it in by grabbing the line, and the way it was hooked made lipping it dangerous. So I grabbed the muskie net and landed the fish.

I don’t know who was more excited. It turned out to be a 19 inch smallie, a nice smallmouth anywhere. We put it into the live well and headed back to show to everybody. He told me to drive so we could get there faster. We were still a hundred yards off shore when he started motioning and yelling for his Dad to see his fish. He was deservedly proud and appropriately modest at the same time. I could not have been more pleased.

His brothers got a good look at it and the middle grandson made sure it was safely released. He has a great compassion for all creatures. While he is a very capable fisherman, good beyond his years, he has always been strictly catch and release. Then all of us pitched in and worked to pack it all up. The youngest became our expert in tent tear down and helped with all the tents. We all checked and are confident that we took out everything that we brought in, except for a little fire wood we left for the next campers.

We had some great times swimming, fishing, cooking, and sitting around the campfire. Campfires create special times, and playing Categories around the fire gave us great opportunities to know each other better and to enjoy each other. For example, the youngest created the category “Where would you live if you had to leave here and could only go one place for the rest of your life?”. Our answers were varied, but he chose Texas because “I don’t know many places and Texas is a place”.

As parents. we often teach our children by example. These boys love being outdoors and did not once just sit and play video games. They get that from their parents. As my father got older, he loved family time above all else. I got that from him, even if I had to grow older to truly appreciate that lesson.

The pandemic has made life confusing, disappointing, and sometimes difficult. But forcing us to camp at Tionesta Lake was a Pandemic Gift.

A trip like this is easy to do, and inexpensive, actually free if you already have the camping equipment. That is the nice thing about outdoor activities; after the initial equipment cost, it is almost cost free to go. Try it. If not at Tionesta, try another place. If not camping or fishing, then something else. There will be a chance to do your thing in a spot in your 120. Do it with your family. Get out there.