June 2015

Things my dad taught me while fishing

Cape Cod Life  /  June 2015 / ,

Writer: Tom Dirsa

Things my dad taught me while fishing

June 2015

Cape Cod Life  /  June 2015 / ,

Writer: Tom Dirsa

Provincetown harbor _ Rolf_52

Courtesy of: Shutterstock / ROLF_52

Both men told me I had to be patient when fishing, and as I dropped my hand line into the sea I was determined I could wait out any fish. In the next hour, both my dad and the captain pulled in fish after fish, but my line just sat there, unmoving. After an hour or so, Dad suggested I check to see if the bait was still on the line. To my shock, I discovered that perhaps the smallest flounder alive had swallowed the bait—and was dangling from my line.

While Dad and the captain traded humorous remarks about the “giant” fish I had caught, I didn’t care because I knew my patience had helped me bring in a fish; the size of the fish, to me, was irrelevant at that time.

A few years later, after Dad had taught me how to use a spinning rod, we went fishing in Provincetown’s Clapps Pond with one of Dad’s friends. I wanted to out-fish my father that day, so while the men moved around to cast in different spots, I used what I’d learned about patience to stay in one spot, making cast after cast. Finally, I hooked a monster: a 10-pound large mouth bass.

This time, it really was a big fish and when Dad and his friend showed up empty-handed—my patience—it appeared, had again paid off!

Then there was the time Dad caught a huge pickerel in what we called Anthony’s Pond, which is now known as Duck Pond in Provincetown. Just as he was about to net it, the fish threw the hook. I learned about frustration that day—and a little about how to deal with frustration when it arises. After a few choice words, Dad re-baited his hook and on the very next cast he landed an even larger pickerel—and brought it in. The lesson learned that day: it’s what you do after a failure that determines how successful you will be.

Tom Dirsa

A resident of Leduc, in the Canadian province of Alberta, Tom Dirsa is a retired teacher and school administrator. He graduated from Provincetown High School in 1959.