Dragonfly Brooder

Fishing derby is definitely my son and I's latest past-time enjoyment. We've done quite a few this year, on recommendation from someone that my wife randomly met at a fishing event earlier this spring and it has been a wonderful experience all around. Not all of the fishing derby's are the same - some are better than others but just like anything, we've improved our skills and experience along the way so it makes for a good time. Plus I get to spend a few hours with just my little buddy, so that's perfect for me as I know those times aren't going to last forever!

The most recent derby I took him to was a little on the slower side in terms of fishing, but it was productive in a completely unexpected way hahaha. It was a pretty chilled day, with it having just rained quite a bit the day before even the morning of while we were driving to the derby. This meant that even though it was springtime and the bugs and things were alive, it was not a very helpful environment for some of the bugs. One of those bug species was dragon flies!

The dragon flies were desperately trying to dry themselves off, as it was not easy to do so with the wind blowing and them being close to the water. They were clinging to the reeds in the shallows, and anything grassy that they could find. We found a little bush near the waters edge and ended up convincing one of them to hop on the little dudes hand! It was really shocking, as we never knew dragon flies to do this type of thing.

These expert hunters are wonderful to have around! They eat so many other bugs like mosquitoes and shit, so we are always incredibly happy to have them nearby. They are feasting on the little fuckers that can get us sick or are just overall annoying!

Usually we see them later in the summer when it really gets warmer out. This is still the early part of the year and I really wasn't expecting to see any of them around but sure enough, the little critters were everywhere! The funny part about it too was that my son saw one kid with a dragon fly, and then he himself ended up spending more time having fun catching dragon flies than he did actual fishing. I didn't mind at all because it's just about being outdoors, in the fresh air and with lots of people of like-mind around us. It was a really great time!

Where things took a very interesting twist is when I turned around and my son somehow got the damn things ON HIS HAT LOL. The kid was the fucking bug whisperer or some shit LOL. This was his claim to fame with the kids around us, especially a couple of the little girls. He's already doing crazy things to impress the ladies hahaha oh well, good for him.

He was walking around showing a bunch of the kids around us this little display on his hat and ended up getting a little trend going on. By the end of the morning, I saw 4 or 5 other boys and one girl doing the same. It was a really funny thing and goes to show that you can have a good time doing just about anything when you're a kid and you're left to your own devices in a way! No phone, tablet or other damn technology in his hand, just kids playing, getting into bugs and having overall fun.

I think this is one of the things I like the most about the derby's; the kids get to all hang out together, do some fishing if they want, the parents get to chat and relax and we all have a good time outside in the fresh air when we are so often cooped up inside these days. Can't get any better than that, in my opinion!