PUTZING AROUND OUTDOORS
Take a Kid Fishing
Editor’s note: To keep track of what he is doing and where, to see his photos and read some of his other writings, including his book, “Tales of The Peshtigo Putzer,” check out his website: www.jerrykiesowoc.com
“Take a kid fishing!” It is a self explanatory phrase we have heard and seen written for years. Decades, perhaps. It’s a good idea. I have done it. You, probably, have too.
So, how has it worked out for you? If you have been successful, if your kids are young and love to fish, great. If they are older, and you have planted the seed of fishing and it has grown some, but has slowed and not matured, be patient. Someday that seed will bloom. Let me tell you why I can say that.
If any of you have followed my trivel for any amount of time, or have read my book, you know that we have a seasonal place in northeast Wisconsin. We helped build it over 50 years ago. We love it.
We have water frontage, so we swim, we canoe, we fish. Our kids, we have two daughters, have been brought up doing it all.
So you say, what’s the problem? You have, and have had, everything required to get your kids involved in the outdoors. Yes we have, and they remain involved with the outdoors, whenever they can, in many ways, but along the way, a few other priorities took them away from their fishing time. Some of those distractions are still there. Interruptions like: college, marriage, moving to another state(in one case), kids of their own - in other words, LIFE.
Oh, they still fish, when they have the opportunity, but they have never had the time to take it up seriously. Is that troubling? Has it left something to be desired in my personal life? Somewhat. Fortunately, I have a wife who fishes, in her own way, and I am a person who does not need company when I want to go fishing. I have no problem being a loner. But, it would have been nice to be able to teach the kids a bit more. To enjoy their company. To see them progress in the sport.
I began fly fishing and tying in my early teens. I have never stopped. In 1996 I began teaching others the sport. A few years later I added tying to my workshops. I still teach both. When my beginning fishing classes are large, my wife helps.
Four years ago our oldest daughter found time to get involved. I dubbed her “the apprentice.” As she learned, she became interested in that style of fishing. Previously, her fishing had always been with spinning tackle. (I started both kids out with canepoles. Maybe I’ll tell you about that someday.)
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| Our daughters have never forgotten about fishing, they just have been interrupted with something called LIFE. |
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Her sister had tried fly fishing about five years ago and even though she doesn’t have the time, and is 600 miles away, she still works at it when she can. She does enjoy the fly rod.
Today, they both are interested in learning more, and are really trying to find time to get into the sport.
Last year the apprentice took out one of our fly rods and, on her own, waded a portion of our river. She found she liked wading. I mean, she really liked it! She found that the feel of the water, the current, was relaxing, and also, depending on where she waded, challenging. She waded in shorts and tennies, as so many do in summer.
She wanted to wade other times of the year, when the water temperature is not suited for shorts and tennies. So, a month ago, she bought herself a pair of breathable, stocking-foot, chest-high waders with a pair of boots. (I had something to do with the selection.)
Our oldest daughter testing out her new waders in a mid-sized, safe-to-begin-with-creek earlier this spring.
Two weeks ago, she asked me to take her somewhere where she could check out the new equipment. It was early in the steelhead season, and we had high water from the melt and recent rains, but we found a stream she could wade without worrying about her being carried away, filling the boots, and ending up in Lake Michigan.
She found the boots worked great. She is enthused. I think after all these years I may have to spend some additional time teaching not only some advanced fly fishing techniques, but also introduce her, slowly, carefully, into different wading situations. (Won’t that be a bummer? Yeah, right. [I am, of course, being sarcastic here.]) My hope is that by the end of the year, she will be out-fishing me. (That won’t be difficult.)
So, if you have introduced your kids to fishing, any kind of fishing, even if it was a long time ago, but life has temporarily gotten in the way, be patient - but stay prepared. When the time is right, they will be back and they will expect you to carry on the lessons. And you better be ready.
Until next time, keep a good thought!
jerry