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Home Take Me
Fishing
“Take me fishing. Because my wedding will be sooner than you think. Take me fishing. And show me that worms aren’t icky. Take me fishing. You can think about work later. Take me fishing. Because I get the giggles when the boat bounces. Take me fishing. Because my wedding will be sooner than you think.” A quote from Water Works Wonders that has stayed with me for sometime now. I am the proud father of three kids, two daughters and one son. My son is autistic and his love of the lake has absolutely nothing to do with a rod and reel unfortunately. I have been blessed to have two girls that have not been completely corrupted by their mother in the womanly wonders of the mall, shopping, and spending. Now don’t misunderstand me, my two girls do enjoy these things, but once in a blue moon I get the magical opportunity to take them to the lake and drop a line. First things first, the
actual fishing
is a long distant second to the time we get with our kids. If you
can keep this in mind the experience
will be lifelong. This is not as easy
as it sounds, I have found out. I’ve
had my middle daughter, Searra, set the hook eight or ten times, she
played
with the drag earlier so much she was almost spooled, and she went
around the
boat three times with the same 4 pound bass. This
event lasted at least four or five minutes and I lost
count of how
many times I thought it would be so much easier for me to just “get it
in the
boat!”. Searra had her picture taken
with her trophy fish (half her size at the age of 7 when she caught it)
and it
proudly hangs on the wall in her room. Click Here to see picture. Toni
Danielle, my oldest, has schooled me every time we
have gone by at
least three to one. She will not only
never forget this, but she is always there as a constant reminder as I
head out
the door with a rod in my hand. She
needs never to know that it was only a rare opportunity I got to get my
line
wet was because I was ensuring that everything she needed was
done.
That is not what is remembered about our
fishing trips, she remembers beating dad, spending time on the water,
enjoying
nature and occasionally catching a fish.
Through experience I
have managed to
make a lot of mistakes in how to take kids fishing, so learn from my
mistakes
and lesson the trauma on yourself. Believe
you me this is an event that will be cherished
forever, but it
is not without pain… -
Do
your research and find out the “hot bite” and “hot bait”.
Don’t go fishing for trout in mid-summer and
don’t even try to rely on those TV super baits. -
Bring
a camera (catch and release), extra clothes (think about it; kids +
water =
more clothes) snacks, and a cell phone if you have one. It is OK
for them to call mom or a friend to
brag. -
It
may be easier with older kids to try night fishing.
The bite is usually much better, and no need to wake them
up at
0330 to catch the morning bite! -
Make
sure you check their equipment and ensure that they have good line and
sharp
hooks. There isn’t much worse than
missing fish after fish because of something that could have been
prevented. -
Put
a rubber band around your wrist to remind yourself this is a day of
bonding and
not fishing. Use the rubber band to
snap your wrist when you forget this, then apologize. -
If
you are fishing from a boat, limit the amount of gear up on the deck
(number of
rods, tackle, clothes, shoes, etc…). Most
of this stuff does not float when accidentally kicked
overboard
when they try and see how far their head goes under water. -
Plan
for the whole day. Don’t rush to get no
where. Take the time enroute to the
water to get hot chocolate and doughnuts. Take
a break for McDonalds in the middle of the day (yes
it does
constitute a drive there and back). Take
the scenic, less traveled route home if available and
get take out
to bring home so stories can be told to the whole family over dinner. -
If
you can’t control yourself and have to fish, try and only bring one
child per
trip. Two or more kids under ten and
the odds of your fishing helping the situation are dismal.
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