There’s just something about catching that first fish whether it’s the first fish of the trip, and year, or the first fish of your life.

After weeks of rain storms, frigid temperatures and high water. Mother Nature allowed us to get on the water for the first time this week, and boy was it exhilarating not so much. Because I was able to catch my first trout of 2008. But I was able to go fishing with my daughter for the first time.

This puny trout was nothing to brag about, one of the smallest fish. I’ve ever caught, to be honest. The little guy was probably no older than my nine month old daughter.

It wasn’t a big brown caught in a blue-ribbon trout stream in Missoula. Mont golden trout taken in the High Sierra, but it was a wild rainbow caught on my favourite coastal creek just a few miles from our house. It was barely the size of my hand, but it brought a little smile to my little girl’s face, and that was as precious a sight as I’ve ever seen.

Too bad she fell asleep by the time I hooked the fish of the day a couple casts later. I would’ve liked to have seen her expression on that one. But I guess she’ll just have to settle for her first fish story.