Feeling flu-ish? Grab a fishing rod

It's not a cure for the flu, but it sure works wonders for the boredom of being sick.

Katie Synowiec likely won't get FDA approval, but she is willing to share her medical method.

Here's the deal.

Katie is a member of a well-known Virginia Beach fishing family that includes mom, Beth; dad, Kevin; and sister, Clara. Like the rest of them, Katie loves to fish. She has won numerous awards from the Virginia Beach Angler's Club.

Two weeks ago, the 11-year-old came down with H1N1, which most people call the swine flu.

Mom, who has a bachelor's degree in nursing, pretty much had the youngster quarantined in her room for several days.

Once Katie's fever broke, she naturally started to become restless, so her mom suggested fresh air.

"But I didn't want her to be around other people," Beth Synowiec said. "I would have felt terrible if she got somebody else sick. I was sure she was OK at this point, but I didn't want to take any chances."

The obvious solution for this family of four was a short trip on their boat. It was a nice day and the waters of the Chesapeake Bay were calm.

They loaded up a few fiddler crabs and headed to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel to see if they could get a tautog or two.

A short time into the trip, Katie got a little green and ended up getting sick.

"I felt so much better after that," said the Kempsville Middle School sixth-grade honors student. "I don't ever get sick on the boat. I wasn't real sure I wanted to go, and when I started to get sick, I didn't want to be there.

"But I felt a lot better after that. And I just had to get out of the house. I was going kind of stir crazy."

Getting out and feeling better, though, was only a small part of the medicine.

The big part came in the form of Katie's first award-winning tog.

It weighed a whopping 11 pounds - 2 pounds heavier than the minimum for a state-sponsored citation from the Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament.

"I knew it was a tog," she said. "And I knew what I had to do. You could feel the mightiness of its pullage.

"They are so strong."

Her dad even got into the act, boating a 10-pound, 8-ounce tog that earned him a citation. He was glad the family took Katie out.

"I was told by my mom that my kid needed some sunshine," Kevin said with a laugh. "And Beth said we needed to go.

"She was feeling kind of down, so we decided to make it a quick, easy trip. She got her citation and a few minutes later I got mine. She definitely was feeling better."

Katie returned to school Monday, where she had a pile of homework to make up.

She also had to get back to classes at the Old Donation Center's visual arts program.

S he said that, except for a slight cough every now and then, she's feeling better.

"It was an awesome day," her mom said. "They got big fish and she started to feel much better.

"So it was the perfect medicine."

Lee Tolliver, (757) 222-5844, lee.tolliver@pilotonline.com