Took my daughters to a kids fishing rally today in a National Wildlife Preserve. They open the pond up for catch & release fishing one day per year - and that day is for the kid’s fishing rally. There were some hungry bass in it.
We just did bobber and worm fishing, the same way probably every one of us got started. Anyway, she got in a 16" fat largemouth. I was WAY more excited than my daughter, who didn’t want to touch it.
A ranger heard our shouts and ran over with a Polaroid, so we have a picture of the event. Thoughtful ranger.
Wal-Mart, the National Park Service, Bureau of Fish & Wildlife (not sure if Virginia or Federal), and DOI Rod & Gun Club sponsored the event. Many thanks to them all, especially the Rod & Gun Club who coordinated and primarily staffed the event.
Sounds like a great time. Though my son is a bit older, 23, he caught his first bass on a lure Thursday. For a variety of reasons, we didn’t spend much time together once he turned 16, so didn’t get to teach him much about fishing. Lately, things have changed. Gave him a spinner bait and he started tossing it, caught two. Its always great when the kids get a chance to connect with the sport, even if the kid is an adult.
My dad gave up on trying to teach me stream techniques when I was a kid. We got to fish in a river together again at about 33. I did OK, but he pulled in a citation largemouth (23"!!! and over 5 lbs) on a #14 in line spinner cast with a 5 wgt fly rod. If I hadn't seen it, I wouldn't have believed it. Very, very cool for me. Later that year, I pulled in the largest smallmouth of my life and he was there. I think he was more excited than me. I was well into my 30's. Last time I was at his house, the picture was on his fridge.
Apparantly, there's no outgrowing this stuff, and for that I'm grateful.
My son has been going through some tough times, married the wrong person and its taken over 4 years for him to split from her…she was very bad news. The fishing trips have helped him open up and he’s taken a real interest in the sport. I guess I’m going to have to dig out some of my old books on bass fishing, some are so old that even electronics weren’t really in use back then. Those are great books for beginning bass fishermen, especially when fishing from a kayak without all the gear bass boats have on them.
I hope your daughter gets over the yuck factor of handling fish. One of the great things a spouses can do for one another is to enjoy a sport like fishing. If it catches with her, some guy will be very lucky.
Good for you I hate to see marriages split up, but understand that they do and sometimes for good reasons. I wish both your son and his estranged wife the best of luck. Sounds like she may need something more than luck - maybe some healing of some sort. You’ve hinted elsewhere what’s what. Let’s not go into details, but just pray that she and your son each get what’s needed to get through this situation.
As far as my daughter and her yuck factor. I’m not counting on it. She’s a girly girl. You should have seen the boys - they showed up with a rod and a bobber and a pocket full of hooks. We showed up with snacks, a ball, books, two ground blankets, a Barbi tackle box, etc., and plenty of so forth.
On the plus side - she really loves kayaking with me in my tandems. We’ve only done flat-water so far, but once she’s through more swimming lessons, we’ll move on to current. Her first paddle was in the keys - we went through a mangrove forest and chased a sand shark around a lagoon. That’d be enough to get anybody started!