Last weekend was boy’s weekend and that meant fishing! So we woke up early had a great breakfast of Apple Jacks for the boys and coffee for me. Loaded up all our gear and headed to my hunting partners farm where we have a great stretch of river to fish. After a short walk down the bank path, the boys talking a mile a minute about who’s going to catch the most and biggest, we hit our first spot to try.
The boys where so eager to get the first fish. It’s great to see them so excited to be outside, but this needed to be a learning event also. School might have been out for the summer, but the school of fishing was in session. First lesson was hook selection and how to tie it on. Bobber selection and bait was a big decision but after some persuasion they both choose the gulp alive power maggots. They mastered casting spinning rods last year so they were off and casting with little help at all. On a side note to parents, kids casting and trees or weeds can really make the experience not fun. Find a nice open area, spread the kids out and explain safety. Nothing can wreck a fun day of fishing like a trip to the hospital to remove hooks.
I stood back for the first little while and watched the boy’s fish, offering little tips here and there when they wanted to hear them, so proud to see them waiting impatiently for a nibble. Once they settled down and got comfy, I started to fish. To tell the truth I was just playing around testing out some new plastics for a gear review, when they got the first bite. Not a monster by any means and not what I expected them to catch but the catfish sure put up a good fight. With one in the pail, the race was now on to find a second. It got entertaining to see each of them claim they had a bite, or the famous “Dad I just had one but it fell off right there!“ This spot in the past has produce lots of sunfish and blue gills but today nothing wanted to play. So without burning the kids out we decided to pack up a bit early as it was getting hot out. I feel that short trips are better to keep them wanting to come back another day instead of forcing it.
Regardless of the outcome, getting kids involved in the great outdoors is the best video game nature can offer. Take a kid fishing; you never know what they will catch!
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