Grandpa's Girl and the Barbie Fishing Pole

HER STORY

STORY AND PHOTOS BY THERESA JARVELA

“Look what I bought for Amera!” my husband announced as he rushed through the front door and held up a pink and blue Barbie fishing pole. “Now she will have her own rod and reel.”

And it’s pink and blue, I thought. Cute, but will it catch fish? To me it looked like a rod Ken or Barbie would use. However, I kept those thoughts to myself and smiled. I didn’t want to burst his bubble.

Amera, gripping her Barbie fishing pole, enjoys night fishing with her grandpa.

Our daughter, Mary, and three-year-old granddaughter, Amera, were traveling from Pennsylvania to visit us and we couldn’t wait for them to arrive. While my mind wandered to house, meal preparation and fun things to do, my husband had other thoughts on his mind. As far as he was concerned a trip to Minnesota meant one thing — fishing. After all, don’t most 3-year-olds contemplate catching the big one? I didn’t think so.

Not long after their arrival plans were underway for a fun day on the lake and when that day arrived, excitement filled the air. After we gathered everything we needed for our adventure we loaded the pontoon. Grandpa hooked the trailer to the truck and off we went.

Amera helps Grandpa steer the pontoon on a fishing excursion.

Lake Edward sparkled under the hot July sun while we waited on the dock ready to board. When it was Amera’s turn, she marched onto and across the deck, Barbie pole in one hand and Grandpa’s hand in the other. As she stood there, grinning ear to ear, I wondered if she would catch a fish or be disappointed. I hoped she wouldn’t be disappointed.

Once aboard we headed out to our angling spot. As soon as we arrived, anchors were dropped, hooks baited, and lines cast or thrown overboard. Then, silent and patient, we waited for someone’s bobber to bob or go under.

Amera proudly displays her first catch as it dangles from her Barbie fishing pole.

Water lapped the sides of the pontoon and rocked it back and forth while the minutes ticked by. And then, “Amera’s got a bite!” Mass confusion reigned. We all crowded around her, eager to be part of the excitement. Grandpa grabbed the landing net and together they landed the fish, grinning ear to ear.

My granddaughter caught most of the fish that day. No keepers but that didn’t matter to her. No way. She had a blast and proved she could angle with the best of them.

Amera (right), pictured with her grandpa, has since retired her Barbie fishing pole.

Amera is now grown, loves to fish and, yes, she’s still Grandpa’s girl. She told me he taught her many things about the sport, like how to take a fish off the hook and how to bait a hook but most of all, he taught her to be patient, which a good fisherman needs to be. And when asked who the go-to person is when she has a question about the sport, she answered without hesitation, “Grandpa.”

Not only does Amera try to catch the big one in Minnesota but in Pennsylvania, too. At home during the summer she attempts it from shore or her kayak and in the winter on the ice in the Poconos. She prefers warm weather angling and it’s no surprise Minnesota is her favorite location to fish.

Amera, now grown, still loves to fish and is still Grandpa’s girl.

I recently asked Amera what she liked least about the sport and she replied, “I don’t like it when the line breaks and I have to redo it all over again.” And when asked what she likes most, she replied, “It’s so relaxing.”

Thinking back 16 years, I admit I was wrong about the Barbie pole. I recall on the way to shore that day my crewmates sang praises to it, but I’d like to think it wasn’t just the Barbie pole that deserved credit for her catch. Perhaps those little fish, knowing full well they weren’t keepers, spread the word among them that on the other end of the shortest line in the water was a little girl named Amera, who had traveled all the way to Minnesota to catch her first fish and they didn’t want to burst her bubble.

Theresa M. Jarvela, freelancer and author of the cozy mystery series, “Tales of a Tenacious Housesitter,” makes her home in Brainerd, Minnesota.