The memory is kind of a blur, standing on that south miami florida canal with a small rod in my hand, and one in my sisters , mom on the camera, and good ole dad by my side, that day would decide the outcome of my life and what would make me who I am. the object of the day was to have fun and to enjoy life and that is what we did. granted all we seemed to catch that day were pinfish and hogfish, but to a 3-4 year old that is better than the circus.
These are things we must remember as we tend to get wrapped up in ourselves and our greed to fill the boxes by being efficient predators of the sea. How many times have you seen that wacky little kid at the docks asking a million annoying questions, eyes peering over your equipment and your catch" Where did you catch’em? What did you catch them on? How much does he weigh?. Most of us have seen this many times, heck we may have been that kid at one point or another. Can you imagine the look on his face if you asked him to go with you next time, he would remember it for eternity I can assure you. I can remember an old man doing the same for me when I was 6 or 7 on a trout stream in the mountains, his name was Sam and passed away a few years ago. But before that happened five years ago I made sure he knew how important it was to me and that i looked to him as a hero at the time. bottom line is “take a kid fishing even if he isn’t yours”! it is a small sacrifice for the outcome you will see.
I can’t wait till my boy is old enough to go with me he has been fishing off of our dock since he was 1/12 old and he already asks me every Saturday morning we going fishing today daddy . I’m already proud of him but it will feel great to watch him hook his first sport fish
I took four 12 year olds from Mississippi out the last week of May and caught some dolphin and bottom fish… Pure hell would not begin to describe the tangled lines,swinging weights,cutting bait and broken equipment…
Almost a month later,I am still recieving text messages from these
little turds thanking me and wanting fishing reports from recent trips…I hope they are big enough to wipe my butt when I get too old to do it myself,pay back is hell.
Well said Gofshn,So many children don’t even get to fish at all much less go out in a boat. So many lessons can be learned and taught in fishing, respect for the water, getting your own bait, showing them how cast, to handling a fish, keeping or releasing, eating what you kill and sharing to name a few. I have caught a few fish in my life, but the thing I enjoy the most now is taking someone out to catch their first Red, Dolphin, Cobia or just a Brim, seeing their expression on their faces as they hold that fish in their hands is priceless. My father was my hero and took me fishing every chance we got, thanks Dad. My first fish was a blue gill caught in a lake on Lake Woodlawn Plantation. Thanks for the reminder
Been there and done that too. Now I take a 86 year old that has been there and now cant take him self! only hope there will be someone to take me in another 20 yrs! God has been good to me!!
