The Fishing Spot

Most of fishing with a kid is waiting, and that is a large part of why fathers do it. There is nowhere else to be, nothing to fix, and one line each in the same water.

American anglers have been paying for that water since 1950, when Congress passed the Sport Fish Restoration Act, usually called Dingell-Johnson after its sponsors. It puts an excise tax on fishing tackle and sends the money to the states for fish habitat, research, boat ramps and public access. A share of what every rod and reel sells for goes back into the lakes and rivers where it gets used.

The man here stands easy with his rod tip lifted, and the boy beside him holds his rod the same way. Nobody seems to be talking, and nobody needs to.

The picture is drawn in navy line on cream, with plenty of bare paper left around it. Father and son stand at the end of a plank dock, their lines out over still, misty water, and a pale sun sits low behind a dark band of pines. Cattails lean in at the lower corners.