Ever since my in-laws moved to their new house close to a lake, my boys have wanted to go fishing. So this Christmas we bought the boys their first rod and reels, some nice shiny Zebco spin casters. Of course, if I was going to teach them, I naturally needed a reel for myself, so I picked out a low end spinning reel and filled a tackle box for the three of us. Enslie received a new spinning reel for Christmas as well, so the four of us got together for the long MLK weekend and tried our luck at Lake Proctor. After an extensive safety briefing on how sharp the hooks are, I got the boys baited and cast their lines for them the first few times. It had been many years since Enslie and I had used a spinning reel, and both of us immediately got our lines in huge knots — not a pretty sight. After getting everything straightened out, we stayed tangle-free for the rest of the trip. We were fighting the wind the whole time, and the fish were not biting at all, but by the end of the trip both boys were casting like champs and talking about what a great time they had. Maybe next time we’ll actually catch a fish.