NEBRASKAland Magazine is dedicated to outstanding photography and informative writing with an engaging mix of articles and photos highlighting Nebraska’s outdoor activities, parklands, wildlife, history and people.
Issue link: http://mag.outdoornebraska.gov/i/823575
54 NEBRASKAland • MAY 2017 P aulette Lovino was raised with the Atlantic Ocean in sight. Just two doors down from her home on Long Island was a dock where her father, a native New Yorker, launched his boat to head into the Sound in search of fluke and flounder. Some of her fondest memories of childhood involve crabbing and clamming on local beaches. She remembers her father waking her in the dead of night after he finished fishing and carting her with her siblings down to the beach where a blazing fire awaited. The kids would comb the beach for horseshoe crabs while the adults conversed around the fire. As she recalls these memories of family and friends, water is the common thread that weaves her stories together. This thread continues as Paulette, now a transplant to Nebraska, recounts summer vacations in Minnesota with her own children and their family friends. The memories are different, with much more time in the kitchen preparing meals while the kids and their dads passed days on the lake catching walleye. But the theme remains the same – family, friends, fishing, good food and simply enjoying each other's company. On a gray and drizzly evening last September, I met Paulette and her grandchildren, Paisley, 5, and Riley, 8, at Holmes Lake in Lincoln for the final Family Fishing Night of the season. Despite the rain, Paulette was eager for her grandkids to experience the joy and excitement of fishing that she remembers from her youth. I have to admit, however, that I wasn't sure they would last five minutes in the unfortunate weather of that day before opting for a warmer, dryer alternative. They proved me wrong. We equipped the kids with rods and reels from the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission's fishing trailer and they headed for a spot on the sandy bank. My husband, Chris, a volunteer fishing instructor, grabbed a few juicy nightcrawlers from the cooler and showed Paulette and the kids how to pinch off a thumbnail- sized piece of worm and thread it on a hook. He then gave them a quick casting lesson. • Put your thumb on the button and hold it down • Raise your pole so the tip points to the sky (but make sure your hook doesn't tangle up your line) • Look toward the water and decide where you want your bobber to go • Point your rod in that direction as you lift your thumb off the button and l et the bobber fly… Simple, right? Paisley will tell you it wasn't quite that easy. Her first attempt got her line stuck in the bush behind her. But she soon got the hang of it and cast, or in her words "rolled," her line right into the water. Riley has fished before, and he was casting like a seasoned angler in no time. Even my son, Elvis, 3, was hitting the water with about half of his casts. They didn't have to wait long for satisfaction. Within minutes, Paisley's orange and yellow bobber ducked hard under the water. With some help, she wildly reeled her line in to discover a bluegill on her hook – her first fish ever. She was so proud, and her grin stretched ear-to-ear as she displayed her fish for a photo. Rainy day? No matter! Her bright pink raincoat and that smile chased all the gloom away. I started to get a little nervous for Riley; no one wants to be out-fished by a kid sister. But never fear; 54 N A Family Fishing Restart by Lindsey Chizinski, Aquatic Education Coordinator