Reflective Essay | Teen Ink

Reflective Essay

January 22, 2019
By chuckles99 BRONZE, Cannon Falls, Minnesota
chuckles99 BRONZE, Cannon Falls, Minnesota
3 articles 0 photos 0 comments

My grandpa taught me how to fish. He brought me ice fishing for the first time and thought it was stupid to drive on a lake even though it is frozen. We got to the shack and unloaded are gear into the ice house. He set up my pole for me and dropped it in the water also. He told me to sit there and jig the pole and after 10 minutes of jigging, I caught my first walleye.

Hunting, in general, is what this whole thing is about. Hunting is what I have been doing since I was six years of age. I hunt with family, friends and sometimes some strangers. To be honest I could hunt with anyone as long as they have a love for hunting. I shot my first duck at nine years old and my first grouse at eleven. I started wearing waders at age ten and boy did I love it. I enjoyed as a ten-year-old putting my legs in the water and just letting then lift back up be the waders float. But one thing I had to do to earn my waders was put them one and fill them with water which is not fun because of the cold icy November river and the temperature being at forty degrees.  It was all worth it because, in the end, I learned how to dill with that situation. That day drove me even more to keep hunting. I am driven more than ever to get my work done at the middle of November because that is when the lakes start to get cold and partly freeze over and the ducks move to the rivers. Ducks have to be the best thing to shoot beside a world record buck.

I get this adrenaline when I see a flock of ducks come in. be quiet and get ready, just before they land, stand up and pick one and shoot and then go the next one and shoot. Then send the dog out there to retrieve the birds and repeat. Also got to mention getting up at four o'clock in the morning and setting up the decoys which are fun because that is wheat sells the deal to the ducks, telling then to land here. In the end i got to say nothing is better than shredding so ducks in the cold fall mornings.

I have a record of driving while hunting even though i am not legal age to drive. My grandpa, which is who i go hunting with most of the time. He tells me to go grab the truck and bring I back here so we can load up or unload are equipment. This one time we were ice fishing up north on a red lake and he asked if I wanted to drive, I was so happy and eager to do I quickly said yes and switched seats without realizing the dangers of driving on ice, like ice heaves, unplowed roads, old ice fishing holes, and etc. I adjusted my seat and turned the truck on. I shifted it to drive and lightly step one the gas pedal. I drove about a mile till I got to never because of the ice haves. I told him is was done and we switched seats again. Another time before this we were hunting on the river and we got done hunting. He told me he would gather all the equipment and I would get the truck. I have never driven by myself before. I was a little nervous not having an adult with me to drive but I was going to do it anyways. I hoped in the truck closed the door and adjusted the seat and tried turning the key. Without realizing  I have to press the key in and then turn. It wouldn't turn i was trying, trying and trying over and over aging but it didn't start. After trying for over ten minutes until my grandpa carried all the equipment to the truck and said what the hell. He got in the truck and said why didn't i start the truck and drive down there. I told him i couldn't start the truck and he said well did you turn the key, i said yeah and it didn't start. He said did you press it and then turn. Then it hit me, that's why it didn't start, dumb me i thought. That's why i never drive without an adult in the car now, well until i am 16.

The first time i went fishing, it was a blast. I know my essay begins with a fishing story. But here is another fishing story. I was six years old and terrified of fish. We had a huge fish tank with all kinds of fish and i never felt comfortable around them. One day i was sitting near the fishtank while it was being cleaned and it broke. All the fish flowed on to the floor and i was in the center of it. What really scared me was that the plecos all landed around me and there were are biggest fish. I was screaming and crying and mom just left me there because she was scared of the fish too. So that is were my fear of fish has come from. As i mentioned i was the first time i went fishing. I had a blast, it was so fun. My Grandpa took me to wisconsin to go fishing. He had a boat and a couple of poles. He launched the boat and we took off to are first location. The first location is where i caught my first fish. He handed me a pole on i tried to cast it but it end up just going five feet. He took the pole back and casted out there for me. He handed the pole back and said wait for the bober to go down and that's how you know you have a fish. I waited there for a good thirty minutes before i got any action. I grasp the pole and waited for the bober to go down. It went down and i was ready. I jerked the pole and hooked the fish. I started to reel really fast until the line went dead and fish jumped off the hook. I was bummed that it jumped off but i was determined to get it back. My Grandpa casted it back out for me and i waited. He told me he casted it in the same spot that the fished jump off so that maybe he would still be there. I held the pole and waited. As soon as i noticed a blur in the water my line went tight and i was back at it again fighting this fish. I reeled slow but steady this time and got it close to the boat. My Grandpa reached over and netted it. I finally get to see it, my first fish. He pulled it out of the net and it was a bullhead catfish. It was

A four pound tub. It was a fat fish, not very long but it was fat. In the end i think my fear fish has vanished into the past. My first fish is what i would consider a win. Also this taught me patience and trust.

In the end hunting, driving and fishing have made me who i am today. I could never be happier then who i am today. I say that all this is done because of my grandpa. He has helped me through everything and he become who i am today. That is why he is the one person who has made a significant difference on my life. This whole essay is about how the person made a difference in my life. With all theses stories. I think it shows how he has made a difference on my life. The ice fishing is a big part of this essay and that is why it is my hook because it means the most to me. That is the end my essay hope you enjoyed reading.



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