Playin' With Reds

Yes...she's licking the fish...ick!

It's that time of year when the Red's are running thick in the Kenai...and this year is no exception, especially since they shut down the commercial set-netters along the beach because of the really small King run this year.  So, b/c there isn't anyone commercially catching the Reds along the beaches the run in the Kenai is huge!  But, that makes for really good fishing for us!

So...Shayne went fishing after work one day and when he brought them home to fillet and process he wanted to take pics of him and the kids with the fish.  We have the cutest pic of he and Shordy last year with their Reds, so this year Tiny had to join them.  Shordy has no problem grabbing a hold of a fish and holding it...he thinks they are pretty cool.

However...Tiny didn't exactly cooperate with the picture taking.  Not that she was afraid of the fish...exactly the opposite.  She was completely fascinated with them!  She is such a tactile/hands-on sort of kid...she loves to touch and taste everything and the fish were no exception.  So, we gave Shordy his fish and dad was holding his and we tried to get Tiny to stand by dad and face the camera, but all she wanted to do was grab the fish and feel their slimy bodies...and then she had to lick them!  Yes...lick them!  Shayne thought it was hilarious and I have to admit I thought it was pretty funny, but I was a little bit worried about her ingesting some sort of crap in the slime she was licking.  Yuck!!  She would grab them and hug them to herself, b/c she was so excited about them.  She would squeal and laugh and just smile at these fish as she was hugging and touching them.  It was so funny!

Even after Shayne put them down, she kept going back over to them and just rubbing up and down them playing in the slime and then poking their eyes and sticking her fingers in their mouths to feel the teeth.  She was so completely fascinated.  I usually love that she likes to get into things and touch them and figure out how they work...I'm a little bit like that.  I sat with her for awhile and talked about what she was touching and how it felt.  It was a definitely learning experience for her...makes me smile when she does such funny things like this.

So...I'm glad she's good with touching the fish, b/c there are going to be a lot more of them this month!