Vlad's first catfish - The offspring is officially a catfish angler!

My son Vlad. He seems to have been infected with the fishing bug since birth!
His favorite toys: rubber fish, twisters, fishing rods. On the eve of his 5th birthday, we went boating on the Rhine.
Vlad has been out fishing with us many times, but so far he has only been allowed to watch us fight catfish.
But that day, everything changed! First, he landed his first pike with a spinning rod! Meanwhile, I was working with the catfish clonk.

Hours passed without any significant catfish activity.
Finally, we spotted a cluster of catfish. The first drift over the hole yielded two missed bites.
After a break on the shore, refreshed and recovered from the heat, we headed out again. Those exciting crescents on the fishfinder again! Vlad not only masters the spinning rod, but also understands the fishfinder, constantly switching functions to better follow what's happening. He's even already able to handle the catfish clonk and occasionally takes over my task.

The boat drifted slowly, while the crescent on the fishfinder incessantly followed our bait... I lured the catfish about 100 meters in with the catfish stick...
And then! A blow, a strike! I held Vlad by his pants, helping him hold the catfish rod while I gave him instructions.
My son was getting tired and complaining about his sore arms, but I showed no mercy – he had to fight it out on his own! Then the catfish burst to the surface!
I reached for the leader and grabbed the fish by the  jaw! The catfish was in the boat! Not a giant by my standards, but a true colossus for Vlad and me!

A child catches a catfish!
I even felt a nervous tremor, as if I'd caught a record-breaking catfish myself! For the first time in his life, little Vlad was covered in catfish slime—and was officially welcomed into the world of catfish anglers! Now he can truly call himself a real angler! We've grown our ranks!
After the photos, we released the catfish together. As a farewell, it sprayed us from head to toe with a fountain of water!

Before the end of the day's fishing, Vlad landed a nearly meter-long pike! Unfortunately, after a long fight, the 0.18mm line on his spinning rod broke... But he'll never forget so many impressions in just a few hours. And neither will I!

Happy birthday, my son!