I was around 12 years old when my father decided I could join the father-son fishing trips he regularly went on with my older brother. I had always been jealous of the two when they would come back from these trips telling stories about all the huge fish they caught with their fancy fishing poles my dad got for Christmas and funny moments they experienced in between. I looked up to my father as he would tell me stories about all the cool things he had done in his life. He would tell me stories about when he was a fire fighter, UFC boxer and all the crazy things he did in college. I remember thinking, wow this man has lived so many different extravagant lives I want to do the same. So whatever my dad did I wanted to do. However some of this wasn’t possible but the one thing that was, was going fishing with him. 

It was a muggy summer day in New Jersey. The air was thick and moist and the fog fell over the streets like a blanket.  The usual fishing spot was this little private waterfall area behind the dam.  The hike there was the best part. It was long and tiring but it got us to our end destination. We parked our car on the side of the road by the street signs and had to jump a large fence to get to the trail. Looking back I am realizing this was most likely trespassing but we didn’t care at the time. We had one goal. To catch as many fish as possible. The trail was full of prickly trees and poison ivy.  We had to be very careful walking it. There were rocks waiting to trip us and bugs eating us alive. 

When we got to the waterfall it was all worth it. It was my first time seeing it in person. The scene did not compare to the pictures my father would show me from his trips with my brother. The rocks were glistening, the water was crashing and turning, the air smelled fresh and felt cold and I was completely blown away by what I was seeing. We then went on to bait the hooks and catch many sun fish. The experience was unmatched