Young people and fishing ??????

In our long debate over the use of 2 lines, many people pointed to getting our youth involved in fishing.

Are our dropping numbers of youth getting into fishing a result of a lack of recruitment to the sport on our part, or our enability to retain them once they reach that certain age that other influences take them away?

What can/should we do about it?
(Please, 2 lines has its own thread, so let’s not go there here.)

You can lead a horse to water, but ya can’t make em drink. The same could be said for kids and the outdoors. Truth is, compared to when many of us were younger, the kids of today are bombarded with a plethora of things to do with their free time. Many of them squander it pursuing pastimes that we older crowd can’t imagine being any fun, but they do!

If a kid these days doesn’t take to fishing of his own free will, I doubt there is much any adult can do to change that. What it really takes is committment, and patience, and dedication, the desire to want nothing more in the world than for your kids to love the outdoors the way you do. A fine of example of what I am talking about can be found in Team Redneck. Many of us have watched Jr. grow into his own man, but it was Sr. who always took the time and performed his fatherly duty of encouragement over the years that fostered that love and enthusiasm Jr. has for fishing. THAT is what it will take to grow the sport of fishing into the future. THAT is why events like the ARM event held out of Everts every year is so dam (pun intended) important!

I would say it is alot of the distractions when they hit a certain age. I would say 15 or 16, Sports, Girls, Video Games, Girls, did I mention Girls ??? I know growing up, I fished just about everyday. Then I would say when I hit the mid teens, it was occasional. Then after I would say 20 or 21, is when I started fishing more again. I also believe our lifestyles have changed so much. When I was a kid, summer vacations were , well, every summer. We would go to Mille Lacs and stay for a week, or go to my uncles farm on the sauk river and camp and fish for a week. Growing up on a lake, it wasn’t a priority to go somewhere fishing, but it seems today, family vacations are Vegas or Mexico in the winter, cruises or disneyworld. The old fashioned camping and going to a cabin for a week, I believe are becoming less and less. I do know, when I ask my nephew if he would like to go fishing, he jumps at the opportunity. That kid gets to Vegas or Laughlin about 8 times a year. Hopefully I am doing my part to pass it on, as I have no kids of my own. I just asked his mom and dad if I could get him a BB gun and they gave me the green light He kind of said at Christmas,”I wonder if I will ever get to go deer hunting ?? ” His dad, my younger brother, does not hunt, so if he is gonna go, I am pretty sure it will be with his uncles. I am looking forward to it

big G

When I was younger I got to go hunting and fishing all over the country with dad and grandpa. But when I was about 15 I took a few years off of doing any of that stuff because of the things big g listed. But now I do almost anything outdoors, and contribute to different organizations. And take a lot more time to enjoy it than I did before. I also miss all of the experiences that I had when I was younger.

I think when kids are exposed to fishing and hunting it should be enjoyable and not a chore. I see so many parents who will yell at their kid because they missed a fish . Who cares if it gets away. That kid is not going to want to fish when he grows up. It needs to be enjoyable and not misserable. It should also be a tool to show the kids all the neat things that they can experience outdoors.

Way to step up G

I take back some of the things taht I have said about you

There are so many different reasons for this. I think that “Back in the day….” kids striking out on their own with buddies was the rule and not the exception. We all had dads around where we could steal fishing gear. And off we would go! When we got to go with adults it was even better…because they had money!

Now days, families are so splintered that keeping up with those traditions has taken a back seat to life in general. Dads and moms divorced. Dads leaving to be in other relationships…moms leaving to start new relationships…all these things take time and money. Often the kids are left in the lurch and turn to the quick and easy fix. Video games. You don’t need a parent for that. The drive to chase bass and sunfish were replaced the drive to kill your buddy’s charactor…or drive around in cyber circles….Expendable income to buy those lures, rods and reels now become “Child Support Payments.” It is sad. We have this beautiful resource to share with them. But often it goes unused.

We used to be able to jump on our bikes and be gone for a day. No cell phones. No Pagers. As long as we were home before the street lights came on… we were OK. Now days, we would never let our kids do that! You could be turned in to Child Protective Services for neglect!

I look around at my sons and daughters classes and find that VERY few have taken to the outdoors. Hunter Safety programs have shrunk sharply. I am willing to bet that we are one generation from a huge crash is these sports.

Do your part and TAKE A KID FISHING!

I agree with what everyone is saying but my experience with fishing is completely different, when i was younger, like under 14-15(im 21 now), i very rarely fished. I raced stock cars for one season when i was 15 and was mostly brought up around racing and didnt know a thing about fishing. I have one uncle that fishes and he took me a few times but it wasnt until i got a job and was in highschool that i met one of my best buddies and its thanks to him and my uncle that i am into fishing now and love it. So yes i would say of course you should take a kid fishing but its also contagious amongst kids.

After tonight I would say do your part and talk to kids about fishing also. I put on a ice fishing basics presentation tonight at my sons boy scouts meeting. Wanted to get things started with some basic ice fishing talking between myself and the kids so I asked who had been out ice fishing this winter. Out of the 15 or so kids and a few adults there 1 kid raised his hand and said he had been out once. Wow. Didnt see that coming. Even with this I think the presentation went off pretty well. The kids seemed to perk up when the electronics got turned on. They liked the camera. Going out side and starting the auger was a big hit. I think those kids new more about my GPS than I did. Anyways it did feel good to talk to them about this even tho I may of lost there attention a time or 2. Hopefully down the road some where when they are looking for things to occupy there free ice fishing may come to mind.

If you guys are serious about getting kids into fishing putting on a small presentation may be a good way to reach more than just one kid at a time. It was pretty simple to do. Spent about a half hour last night writing up a brief out line of what I was going to talk about. Most of my gear was all ready in the truck so that was set to go. Set up my rods, electronics, auger, tackle, gas heater and lights, and a few other things on a table and just started going threw each item with what it was and how to use it. Pretty simple. Getting me to only talk for a hour about fishing was the hard part.

Maybe with less kids fishing we can finally get 2 lines OK someone had to say it

Idont know they say less people are fishing yet lakes are full of boats and the DNR needs more money to stock lakes etc.Maybe they are more worried about loosing a couple bucks.Maybe a few less people fishing and hunting would be a good thing.Heck Im nervous walking out in the woods during deer season now and every time I go out fishing I have a boat pull up 10 feet away from me.Theres plenty of people and plenty of kids so Im sure there will be plenty still fishing.Maybe with the price of things these days they might have to be a little older before they or there parents can afford to go.The price of fishing has definitly gone up and the days of riding the bicycle down to the lake or river have seem to disappeared.Maybe we just hit a peak and it will fall off a little.I think when towns were smaller there were more opportunities for kids to fish but as things have grown there are probably less.Im sure if you get away from the big city you will find more kids fishing.Ive had my 3 Grandsons out fishing since they were small and I think it is great to have kids expierience the outdoors and I think they learn a lot by doing it.It also gets them away from the TV and the electronics.Maybe there are a few less fishing now but I still dont think there will be a shortage down the road.

I read a study about recruiting youngsters into the fields of hunting & fishing a few years ago. (don’t remember where anymore)

What stuck in my mind more than anything from that article was this: If the kids are not introduced into the fields of hunting & fishing before the age of twelve, the odds that they will take up an interest in these sports later on in life go way down.

If you have the chance, take them fishing & hunting when they are still very young and do your best to make it an enjoyable experience.

I have strong feelings on this subject. If you want to get a kid into fishing you start them early. I remember changing diapers on the old Lund seat. It is easy to talk about getting kids involved but there is a commitment by the parent that many just aren’t willing to give. I hear about week camping trips when we were smaller and you can bet it wasn’t all fun and games for our parents. They could have been up north with their buddies but they knew what was important. If you are going to get a kid involved, then do it. It isn’t when you feel like it or when your buddies are too busy to go. I started my son early and after that if I was in the boat, so was he. There wasn’t any stopping for a couple cold ones on the way home or hitting the girlie bar and a few of the buddies slid away as I got so “boring”. It truly is a trickle effect too. My son has got more young people involved than I ever could but he has the perfect bait. Someone their own age that talks like them, acts like them but can go out and put them on fish I have grandkids coming up and I plan to put them on the same program. I know there are so many kids out there now from single parent homes that we have our work cut out for us but we just have to start one–or maybe two—kids at a time. If you plant the seed it will grow but it needs nurtured when it is starting out. OK, I’ll get off my soapbox

I hate to admit it but I read the first post and then I kind of skimmed the rest. Thank you very much for the kind words ou812. I didn’t do anything special and it was kind of selfish on my part. I put in the time early and now I have the best fishing partner any man could ever hope for. I have an 18 month old grandson that I actually have dreams about him catching his first walleye. My daugher was telling me that when my 4 year old grand daughter was praying the other night she was praying for each family member and the daughter said “what about Pop Pop”. My grand daughter immediately siad “and please let Pop Pop catch lots of walleye”. Guess I got an in with the big guy now!!!!!

Gentlemen, I belong to Walleyes Unlimited USA, I’m a past president and have been a member for over 18 yrs. We are a multi- specie organization, we are also 2007 inductees in the Fresh Water Fishing Hall Of Fame. Let me briefly explain our kids programs to all. We have in conjunction with Milwaukee county, Two KID’S Fishing Clinics. One is Feb 7th (ice fishing) the other is in April(open water) we teach safety, knot tying, care and use of rods & reels, ice fising rigs, Etc. We also provide a lunch and beverages for the kids.our program usually runs from 8:00 a. m. to 2:00 p.m. We have a mix of Boys and Girls most are ages 8-15 yrs. our club members volunteer their time to instruct this endevor. My point being , youth are only as good as the responsible adults behind them, We need to teach them early. Two of the most important lessons being responsibility & accountiblity. Thank you, for this opportunity to put this in perspective..Mike Mulqueen Trustee, Walleyes Unlimited USA EST: 1969

Just a theory on my part… but I think it has something to do with the competitive nature of everything even fishing these days! We all talk about “getting the kids on fish”, Keeping their intrest, Dont let them get bored…. What ever happened to just going fishing? When I was young, my dad and I would go fishing on the river mostly on the weekends. We had a 15 foot flat with a 20 horse Johnson on it. No electronics, no trolling motor, go GPS, no river maps, nothing but the ability to “read ther river” and some time. We fished the bottom with a three way swivel, a hook (#2) and a bell sinker. We caught sheepshead, channel cats, mud cats, walleye, pan fish, carp,… pretty much everything that swam in the river and it didn’t matter. We didn’t care what we caught. Today, too many people are fishing species specific. We are disapointed when we catch that 4 pound sheepshead because “dang it… we are fishing for walleyes”! I would have been excited to catch that sheepshead…imagine the fight it provided! With the popularity of tournaments, Alot of “Dads” tend to specalize. Look at the threads here. Jack fishes walleye, Slop fishes Bass, Gary fishes muskies…. I may have mixed up the names with the type of fish but you get the point. With the advent of all the electronics, there is so much detailed information available both before you get on the water, and then while you are on the water, the pressure to “catch” that walleye suspended 2 feet off the bottom on that rock pile at these “coordinates” then becomes work. We are now a society of instant gratification, and beating the other guy. Don’t get me wrong. Dad and I had our own competition when we went fishing… first fish (any kind) biggest fish (any kind), biggest “quality” fish (these were the ones we would keep to eat… eyes, pike, catfish…). Point is, we never really knew what we would catch! In my 47 years, I have NEVER seen my dad get skunked! He always catches something… even if it is a lowly carp. For me, when I was young, (and even now if I stop to think about it) it was about going fishing with my Dad rather than catching a bunch of fish. I think we have lost the point of “recreational” fishing. It is now very technical and the competitive side means we have to work at it. When I think of fishing… the way I was brought up with it, I picture the boy with the overalls, no shirt, straw hat, no shoes or socks, tin can of worms beside him, sitting on the bank with a cane pole and float. Now that’s fishing!

Amen Redneck!! Nice meeting you on Saturday by the way…

If I am looking to relax and fish, it is not my first choice to bring a 3 and a 5 year old with… Just being honest. I do it because it is an investment in my kids lives. That being said…when I put Luke to bed last night he said (just like every other night), “Hey dad…I got a great idea.” And I reply, “Oh yeah, what is that?” His classic response is, “I think we should go ice fishing tomorrow!! That’s a GREAT idea, isn’t it dad?”

His other signature statement at his full age of 3 1/2…I will always say, “boy, you sure are a good fisherman!” He always replies, “No, I not a good fisherman…I a GREAT fisherman!!” That is what makes it all worth while!!

Jack – Good thought provoking post….

I think Labman is onto something. In today’s world it seems like everyone has to compete to be the best and cheer for the winner or your a loser…… And what ever happened to people going out fishing for fun versus catching? I consistently hear people measuring the “success” of their day by how many and how big their fish were. Just look at the fishing reports and all the big fish photos….. Sometimes makes me puke that we don’t write more about the fun surrounding catching fish and less about how studly one seems to get the big ones or many of them. Don’t get me wrong I enjoy a great day of fishing as much as the next but it’s still more about the experience then how much or how big the catch is….

While competitive fishing can be fun it’s really not what beginners should be exposed to in the beginning. I believe it needs to be about the relaxation and time spent in the outdoors more then whats tugging at the other end of the line.

But then again that goes against the world we are creating where few people know their neighbors let alone their family members. Gotta chase after that almighty dollar to get a bigger boat, bigger house, bigger bank account, etc, etc versus worrying about the little things in life….

My kids had a ton of fun catching blue gills, eating good snacks, swimming when boredom set in and now one is a junior in HS, 2 in college and one starting her family. They are all too busy to fish but I hope and pray that someday they will return to their roots and take up the sport of angling. Just for the fun of seeing a beautiful sunset, enjoying the unique earth odors and the sounds of birds all the while in a boat enjoying one anothers company……

This thread should provide some good insights to maybe help…

PS – then there’s the issue of the never ending inner city population growth. How can we better serve that population and allow them the experience called angling?

Kurt

i think a lot of it has to do with the coplexity of life these days. when i was growing up in the summer you either played baseball with your friends or you went fishing, there wasn’t much else to do, no vidio games, no cable tv, no cell phones, nothing. it was kind of a way of life.
now days kids have so much more things they can do, i always took my son fishing when he was young and now that he’s a teenager he doesn’t fish as much, he likes fishing but he likes doing alot of other things to. at first this kind of bothered me but i came to realize you have to let them do there own thing. my son will hunt and fish his entire life because he does enjoy it. but he also enjoys doing other things as well. one other thing mention hunting to him and he and the dog will run you over to see who can get in the truck first. thats just him.

I grew up with two ponds and a nice river right out my back door. When i was really young i found a way to attach my wagon to my bike and fill it full of fishing gear and i’d ride down the river and spend all day down there. If i wasn’t at the river fishing, i was on our pond fishing.

In high school i would bring my boat to school and leave right from there, or i’d have my gun in my truck and sneak out near the end of the day when i didn’t have sports.

The main reason for my addiction to the outdoors was the ease to which i could do it. I had opportunities available everywhere. Kids these days may not, and seems like adults are less willing to take them. Now we’ve got this craze of video games taking over.

I know this summer i’m going to make an effort to take a couple kids fishing, even if it’s only a couple times.

WW, I couldn’t agree more. The lack of opportunities is a huge factor against kids just going fishing or hunting. Along with today’s horrible society. I’m sorry, but I would drive all over the county fishing stock ponds in high school. Good luck finding lake shore in MN to fish.

I can remember my parents camping below the dam in Pierre just about every weekend in the summer. I was up at the crack of dawn, hopped on the bike and headed for the tailrace. First thing I did was walk the shoreline looking for lost raps. Then, I’d head back to the camper for breakfast. After that, I’d head back over to fish. Fish til noon, then back for lunch. We would usually swim a bit in the afternoon, then I’d be back out fishing til dark. I wasn’t allowed to fish the fast water after dark since I was pretty little. So, I’d sit around the fire and watch the old man have a few and play with my cousins. Wake up, start all over again.

I hear ya Kooty. We had it much easier than our kids when it comes to hunting and fishing. I think the other side of the coin is that we realize how important it is for our kids to get into the outdoors so we can help them along. When I was a kid I duck hunted the local ponds and duck hunted 3 or 4 times a week. My son didn’t have that available so to conteract that we hunted about every weekend and did a week in North Dakota during MEA. He saw duck hunting at 10 years old that I could only dream of at that age.
On the fishing side it was similar. He couldn’t go every day after school but when we went we made the most of it and by the time he was a teenager he had caught fish I would have done anything to catch at 16. For ever con there is a pro—it’s just that sometimes we have to look hard to find it.
On a side note—we have camped below the dam at Oahe. That is a really nice campground and the fishing around there is top notch. Our place out there is 12 miles north of the campground so we swing through a couple times a summer and just check it out!

Those of you that have mentioned “competition or competetive” in your respones are right on! Anyone with kids involved in athletics, or any extra-carricular school or club activity for that matter, knows firsthand what a hectic schedule summertime brings! The amount of pressure put on kids today to WIN is obsurd! And to do that, the powers that be make us believe that the kids must attend summer camps, spend countless hours in the weight room, gym, on the ice, hold captain’s practice’s, do this, do that, etc…..Win, win, win… This is drilled into parent’s and kids’ heads that anything else is just not acceptable. Average just doesn’t cut it anymore – average coaches lose their jobs and average kids sit on the bench, that’s just the way it is and we have nobody to blame but ourselves. Sorry to say, but somewhere along the way an “I” has slipped into the word team. Coaches want to create the next all star to notch another win in their clip board and put another trophy in the case, parents want the next pro athlete. And, some kids are also expected to hold part-time jobs. Add to that the summer baseball & softball leagues, soccer, swimming and so on, it’s pretty darn easy for a summer to slip by without a family vacation or a few days on the water or in the woods.

It’s a tough decision for parents to make. We all want the best for our kids. So does that mean allowing or making them spend countless hours and weeks becoming a stud athlete so they can be popular with their peers and hang banners in their school, or make them realize how important it is to spend a few days with the family enjoying the outdoors. It’s a fine line. Forfeit family vacations so your kid doesn’t ride the pine or instill the family values you know are so important.

Don’t get me wrong, I love athletics and love competition. It was and still is a big part of my life. But we as parents need to be sure our kids still know and realize what is really important in life. For most kids, these activities that engulf their teenage years are done by age 18. Then what….better have some other life lessons and experiences to replace them. If that’s all we have allowed them to know, we as parents can only blame ourselves for not showing them other avenues to venture down.

So, parents just need to maintain that balance between family and “everything else”. Encourage your kids to participate in the many activities available to them, and help them be as best they can at whatever that may be, just remember to introduce them to the outdoors the same time you put a ball in their hand. We spend a day in the boat or an evening in the tree stand to get away from the sometimes overwhelming schedule’s we have, and kids need to do the same. Make sure they know that!

Want to help get kids started fishing one word ARM.

Trev,

AMEN BROTHER!!! I was a “jock”. 4 sports a year blah, blah. But, when the season was over, I put down the football and moved on until the next fall. Not now days. Holy cow I watch my neighbors cart their kids everywhere for hockey. Sorry, but my kids will not be in team sports if I have take them to practice at 8PM on a school night for an 8 year old. If they want to golf or play tennis, great. The good news so far, with the coordination my girls got, I don’t have to worry about sports.

Kooty – I hear ya, same here. As soon as practice was done I’d be thinking about the next rooster I was gonna flush or walleye bending my stick! I made sure I did enough to be a 3-sport starter, but no way were sports gonna keep me from enjoying my real passion! Although, I now find myself sometimes wondering if I would have really applied myself in athletics what opportunities I might have had?

Absolutely, I feel for some of those families involved with hockey. After spending thousands of dollars travelling during the winter months, they probably can’t afford a summer vacation with the family!

Most of these points have been touched on but my list would include:

1) Societal change – we don’t (for good reasons) just let our kids wander around town or the area on their own at a young age. I remember being gone all day by myself when I was 10-12 years old.

2) Competition from organized sports – in order to compete these days, you must not only practice as a team but you must take classes as individuals (batting coaches, pitching coaches, private basketball coaches) This takes alot of time away from families that want to do both the outdoors and a competitive sport

3) Lack of access – not much open shoreline for kids to fish from shore.

4) Dual income families/broken families – either both parents work or child has but one parent who must work and has little time to expand into outdoor recreation

To expand this sport, we must learn to compete with these changing issues. Could we have fishing as a high school sport? Could a website like IDO sponsor a “Open Seat for kids” program where kids and their parents could sign up to go fishing on a given day and people here could volunteer to take them?

Lots of good ideas on here.

Eric

I think we are taking steps to curtail the changes taking place in today’s world. AYA Tournaments are great if you can keep the competetive aspect of it to a minimum. Our local school just spent a day on the ice with the 5th & 6th grade classes as part of a MinnAqua Program sponsored by the DNR. Just a couple examples….

I hope that you carefully read my post..Take your time.. Think about what you had when you were 10 and 12 years old..

okay here I go.. One I was a member of Walleyes Unlimited and the Okauchee Fishing clubs from back in 1972. Dan Sura and Dave Csanda were members as well. So was Jim Wrolstad of Fishing Facts.. and the clubs met on 17th and Mitchell streets in Milwaukee. I started in these clubs at age 12. and MY DAD DID NOT FISH. At ALL. ZERO. Nothing.. in fact one of the only reason for him to be a part of the clubs was the summer picnic’s and the banquets..

But I loved to fish.. and I went.. three Mondays a month on the bus, by my self..

eventually I drove my self..

All the kids that I knew fished at one point in time or another.. My cousins fished three or four times a week at various times in the summer.. I fished when guys went fishing, until I got my license.
and that’s the way it was in the 1970’s.. a kid, a bike and a pole..

but the changes that have been made. One, now you can catch all the fish you want on a computer. and be a HERO..

two, the elimination of the bait shop.. a place where a kid who wants to talk fishing can go to TALK FISHING. or get some bait.. or to hang out and just lust after the wall of lures..

three the total change in the tackle industry.. I am on a different forum where we have been discussing why Tackle shows stink.. There are fewer and Fewer “early season deals” to buy a rod and reel. The shows don’t have a MUST BUY SHOW SPECIAL Anymore.. None or less to none..

and here is a big one.. The change in size limits on bass and Walleyes..

when you or I were kids.. it was a 6 inch state of Wisconsin limit on a bass.. and none on Walleye… and the river had no size limit at all.

and I know that I am going to take a beating on this next statement, but as a tackle store owner, a person who has been in the fishing business since 1974, when I worked my first Milwaukee Sport show, BUT SIZE LIMIT HAS HURT KIDS AND FISHING.

and let me tell you why.. when you or I were kids.. if you caught a bass it was a “keeper”.. It was SO MUCH BIGGER THEN a blue gill ,or a crappie.. it was a WHALE.. and all it had to be was 12 inches long..

PERCEPTION.. this is a KEEPER..

Now a kid catches a 13 inch bass, some of which weigh close to 2lbs in the spring.. and ITS NOT GOOD ENOUGH.. You DID NOT DO GOOD ENOUGH.. poor reenforcement.

We could let every kid in Wisconsin catch every bass they want under 12 inches and say that they are KEEPERS and it WOULD NOT HURT THE FISHERY.. almost any fishery..

and that would be POSITIVE REENFORCEMENT.

I had my bait store for 8 years. I knew my clientel. They were the kids and the older bank fishermen.. These were not the bass chasers, but the FUTURE FISHERMEN.. and right up to the year I closed, there were no size limits on bass and walleyes on the river.. and then it changed..

within two years 8 bait shops closed. Now some were going to close because of the age of the owners.. but not all of them.. the economy changed. the entrance of the Big Box store started.. but I had no problem competing against Shopko… but it changed..

and the size limit and the lack of reenforcement on our kids took away kids from fishing.. Now fish that were “keepers” last year weren’t good enough.. and then you aren’t good enough as a fisherman.. so why should you go fishing? You don’t have a boat, you have a bike.. You don’t have a motor, you have a Mitchell 320 and fiberglass rod.. and those tools allowed you to be successful from the bank, BEFORE NOW.. but not after.. and not today..

and I know that I am going to be ripped to shreds for this post.. but I was on the front line, so to speak.. I know exactly what I am talking about.

when you and I were kids that’s what we had and IT WAS GOOD ENOUGH FOR SUCCESS.. but its not now.. so why should you fish when you CANNOT BE SUCCESSFUL.. its a defeating purpose.

I hope that you have carefully read my post.. I hope you took your time.. Think about what you had when you were 10 and 12 years old..and if you were born before 84 you should be in good shape..

reenforcement in fishing is a very powerful tool. Its not the only tool, but one that has been taken away from a generation of fishermen to come..

Old rat – you hit some very good points.

I would like to add another point I think has been overlooked (I didn’t read every post, so if it has been mnetioned already, I apologize). I see a whole generation of kids these days that are tuned into instantaneous satisfaction no matter what they do. From the time they are young, look at how easy everything is…….Hungry?—– pop something in a microwave, curious about something—– log on to the web and get instant info, Lonely——pick up your cell and text some kids……. By the time they are a little older, they have the mindset that everything should come easy and instantly. Well that just isn’t the way the real world works. Some things require a little patience and perseverance in order to be achieved. Fishing success is one of those things. You take a bunch of young kids today and set them down with a can of worms and watch……after about 5 minutes of no action, you’ll have a bunch wanting to quit because fishing is too boring. The whole “I want to be entertained NOW” mentality is maddening to me.

I have a nephew who is a sports junkie. His mom is carting him somewhere EVERY SINGLE DAY. When there is no practice or game, he is a bored kid (unless there is a gam on TV). He can’t handle fishing, because there are usually periods of inactivity where patience is a necessity. 10 minutes of no action, he is in misery.