October 08, 2020

The Highlight of Eli's Decade


I was wondering all day long what I was going to write about today because I just haven't had much to say lately. I need a project to work on! I would love to work on expanding the front porch/stoop, but I really ought to wait until the lumber prices come down.

I'd like to go to my brother's to finish his ceiling, but his girlfriend has been working from home at his house. I could go over when she's there, but the sanding is going to be really loud and not helpful to her work. Also, I prefer to work alone--listening to my true crime podcasts and zoning out everything else.

I started organizing some stuff at home today. I have SO much craft stuff and I don't know what to do with it! I would love to use my sewing machine and serger more often, but it's such a pain to get everything out. I'd really love to come up with a solution to that. Noah's old desk is now in the garage, and I was thinking about moving my sewing stuff out there. But I need to come up with a good plan first.

Anyway, like I said, I don't have much to post! Just before I started writing, however, my mom called me and was so excited she could barely say the words: "Eli just caught a muskie!" And I replied, "I'll be right there!"

A muskie is a huge freshwater fish that is known as "the fish of 10,000 casts" because they really do take that long to catch one. Lake St. Claire, which is a little over an hour away, is actually known for being one of the top lakes to catch muskie. Last year, Eli went there with a family friend and we were in the boat all day hoping he'd get one. He casted over and over. Andy, the friend who took him fishing in his boat, hooked one and let Eli reel it in. But Eli wanted to catch one all on his own.

He did catch one in a boat with my dad after that in the Detroit River. His first "real" catch, which was super exciting. I wish I'd have seen it!

Tonight, though, was shocking. He was shore fishing (not in a boat) and he was just standing in my parents' backyard on Lake Erie, casting out. He actually saw the muskie out there and casted near it. Then he hooked it! He said he was shaking with adrenaline and was yelling for my dad. My dad came running outside, saw what Eli was yelling about (meanwhile, Eli's reeling in a monster-sized fish) and then ran back for his camera.

He yelled to my mom, who then called me. I rushed over there with Noah's camera to get some pictures. Several of the neighbors came outside to see what was going on, and they were thrilled or him, too. (Eli has thought about nothing but muskie for over a year now). Eli told me to hurry up, he didn't want the fish to die from being out of the water, so I only grabbed a couple of pictures before he carefully set it back in the water to release it.

He sat there with it, making sure that it was okay, until it swam away. Eli was SO excited! The fish was 47 inches (I don't know how much it weighed, but my dad estimated 30-35 pounds).













I can currently hear Eli talking on the phone with people retelling the story ;)  I know that fishing isn't everyone's cup of tea, but for Eli, this was a dream come true!

16 comments:

  1. Congratulations to your son. Fishing is a great lifetime hobby and sure to bring him years of pleasure.

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  2. Oh, that's so exciting! We were just talking about muskie fishing! It's a big deal here in Wisconsin too! Congrats to Eli!

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  3. So freakin' awesome!!!! Good for him. That is definitely a catch of a lifetime and shore fishing too.

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  4. That's really exciting! He's living a real-life Animal Crossing dream, haha! Congrats, Eli!

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  5. So awesome!!!!! Congratulations to Eli!!!!

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  6. That's so exciting! And I thought he was Jerry in those photos for a second!

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  7. Wow...that's an amazing fish to catch from shore! I can see the joy in his face! Congratulations Eli!

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  8. Incredible! Congratulations Eli!

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  9. Eli (still my number one favorite boy/man name) he is a son to be so proud of! I love the way he protects every animal or any life. I save animals or bugs, even spiders, I just want them to live outside and enjoy their life. You have done an awesome job Katie and Jerry (and the recent picture of Noah, I thought maybe it was Jerry). No wait, the picture of Jerry, I thought was Noah. I work niht shifts 12 hours and I need sleep. That fish is HUGE!

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  10. So exciting! I’m thrilled for Eli!!

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  11. First time commenter here. These pictures are gorgeous! I hope you print and frame them. The background with the soft fall sunset colors is breathtaking.

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  12. Congratulations to Eli!! And I love the pics of him putting the fish back in the water and watching to see if it was ok.

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  13. Wow, that was a huge fish! I can see why it was such a big deal for him to catch it!

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  14. So exciting! What a fish!!!!!!!!

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