Every year I take my kids out to fish several of the junior fishing rodeos held here along the Mississippi Gulf Coast. At the end of the day, as I begin pulling fish out of the cooler for the weigh-in, the kids always start to argue. It may come as a surprise to most of you, but every child automatically thinks he or she caught the largest fish in the cooler! To resolve this issue, I have begun using colored cable ties to distinguish each angler's fish.

At the beginning of the day, each child chooses a color. If a keeper fish is caught, the child fastens his or her cable tie through the fish's mouth and out the gills. At the weigh-in, I separate the fish by tie color, and the children know exactly which fish they caught. The cable ties also make an easy handle for the child to carry the fish to the scales. Now if I could just find a way to keep them from arguing over color choice!

James Victory
Gautier, Mississippi