Your Season Lowlights

[numbskull]

Originally Posted by Fishoholic

I had my best year, but it's far over shadowed by my failure in putting my boys on bass. I will say though,,, they did not complain once when I got them up at 2am. not once. I am proud of that. If I can get them out there again next year my number one priority will be getting them on fish..

Been there, done that. I have some advice you might consider.

You are going about this wrong. I know, I made the same mistake and often wish I could do it over. Catching a large fish does not hook kids on fishing. Having fun is what does it. Take them scup fishing, snapper blue fishing, schoolie fishing, fresh water fishing, squid fishing. Go at reasonable hours and for short periods. Take their friends with them. Measure success in laughs and time outdoors rather than catch. If it is in them (and often it is not) they will grow into the sport themselves.

I was too intense, too focused on getting my sons' a big bass. They sensed it and didn't have fun. If big fish come at the expense of fun a kid will turn off to fishing quickly. Getting a child a big fish does not make up for our short-comings as parents (if only it did). Luckily, spending time with our kids having fun does.

[fishbones]

Originally Posted by numbskull

Been there, done that. I have some advice you might consider.

You are going about this wrong. I know, I made the same mistake and often wish I could do it over. Catching a large fish does not hook kids on fishing. Having fun is what does it. Take them scup fishing, snapper blue fishing, schoolie fishing, fresh water fishing, squid fishing. Go at reasonable hours and for short periods. Take their friends with them. Measure success in laughs and time outdoors rather than catch. If it is in them (and often it is not) they will grow into the sport themselves.

I was too intense, too focused on getting my sons' a big bass. They sensed it and didn't have fun. If big fish come at the expense of fun a kid will turn off to fishing quickly. Getting a child a big fish does not make up for our short-comings as parents (if only it did). Luckily, spending time with our kids having fun does.

Great advice, George. I took my 7 1/2 y.o. son a few times this season and we had fun every time, even when there were no fish around. I told him to let me know when he wanted to leave and never tried to force him to stay longer than he wanted. Now he asks me to take him fishing instead of me asking him if he wants to go. I had more fun fishing with him and getting skunked than I had on other trips where I got into nice fish without him.

As for my lowlights, I don't really have any. I didn't get out as much as the last few years, but I enjoyed it when I did. I also fished with some good friends and had a lot of laughs. I guess my only complaint is that I didn't get to fish with as many people from the site as I would have liked, but there's still time left this season.

[tunaless greg]

I said "let me anchor up one more time " before the winds start blowing and i have to head in, during the last day of codfishing. Wind picks up on cue, and as i pay the line out of the windlass, the knot somehow unties after 6,000 anchorings at the end (i have a block of wood and a knot to stop the rope from ever paying out and going overboard). Needless to say, rope that i thought would float a little, sank like a stone, and anchor, chain and rope went bye bye. tried grappling to no avail.


Equally frustrating was my inability to get one of the best plug fishermen on this website into a decent fish all season. Probably 20 trips and not one good sized bass like years past. His brother came out one trip, and bested his best fish of the year by easily 4 inches. The tough part was i know he fished harder this year, then any other.

[doc]

Originally Posted by tunaless greg

I said "let me anchor up one more time " before the winds start blowing and i have to head in, during the last day of codfishing. Wind picks up on cue, and as i pay the line out of the windlass, the knot somehow unties after 6,000 anchorings at the end (i have a block of wood and a knot to stop the rope from ever paying out and going overboard). Needless to say, rope that i thought would float a little, sank like a stone, and anchor, chain and rope went bye bye. tried grappling to no avail.


Equally frustrating was my inability to get one of the best plug fishermen on this website into a decent fish all season. Probably 20 trips and not one good sized bass like years past. His brother came out one trip, and bested his best fish of the year by easily 4 inches. The tough part was i know he fished harder this year, then any other.

...almost blew my coffee out my nose reading this...!
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

[Night Shift]

Having a fish take your eel, and on the hook set, the 4/0 Gammi sets right back into the eel. The result is a VERY short fight, but always long enough to know what caliber of fish took your offering. It usually happens only 2 or 3 times a season.
NOT 2 DOZEN TIMES!

It cost me some very large fish this year.

[Night Shift]

... I also dropped a 46 pound fish and took 4 spines to the inside of my knee while trying to take a picture during a solo mission. A little home surgery was needed a few days later to remove two of the spines.

[Fishoholic]

Originally Posted by numbskull

Been there, done that. I have some advice you might consider.

You are going about this wrong. I know, I made the same mistake and often wish I could do it over. Catching a large fish does not hook kids on fishing. Having fun is what does it. Take them scup fishing, snapper blue fishing, schoolie fishing, fresh water fishing, squid fishing. Go at reasonable hours and for short periods. Take their friends with them. Measure success in laughs and time outdoors rather than catch. If it is in them (and often it is not) they will grow into the sport themselves.

I was too intense, too focused on getting my sons' a big bass. They sensed it and didn't have fun. If big fish come at the expense of fun a kid will turn off to fishing quickly. Getting a child a big fish does not make up for our short-comings as parents (if only it did). Luckily, spending time with our kids having fun does.

Thank you Numby, I will always take advice from you. They are my little scup masters already. They want something with stripes, so next year I'm going to do as you said, and target schoolies for them. They see some pics of some of my fish and they say WE WANT THAT! So I do my best and fail fail. I'm going to try bringing one of their friends too. I'm sure they'd like that.

[tysdad115]

Originally Posted by Fishoholic

Thank you Numby, I will always take advice from you. They are my little scup masters already. They want something with stripes, so next year I'm going to do as you said, and target schoolies for them. They see some pics of some of my fish and they say WE WANT THAT! So I do my best and fail fail. I'm going to try bringing one of their friends too. I'm sure they'd like that.

TJ we should get the boys together...Ty is great showing kids and goofing off with them inbetween fish.

[Squid kids Dad]

This whole year was a fishing low for me..Did not go once due to ankle problems..5 screws,bone fushion and tendon shortening later and still in a wheel chair..
Next year has to be better for sure..

[Tagger]

Block Island ,,,,,,again

[Fishoholic]

Originally Posted by tysdad115

TJ we should get the boys together...Ty is great showing kids and goofing off with them inbetween fish.

Love the idea Andy! Next season for sure. Moose is awesome, I'm sure they'd love fishing with him. They already know who he is

[FishermanTim]

Originally Posted by numbskull

Been there, done that. I have some advice you might consider.

You are going about this wrong. I know, I made the same mistake and often wish I could do it over. Catching a large fish does not hook kids on fishing. Having fun is what does it. Take them scup fishing, snapper blue fishing, schoolie fishing, fresh water fishing, squid fishing. Go at reasonable hours and for short periods. Take their friends with them. Measure success in laughs and time outdoors rather than catch. If it is in them (and often it is not) they will grow into the sport themselves.

I was too intense, too focused on getting my sons' a big bass. They sensed it and didn't have fun. If big fish come at the expense of fun a kid will turn off to fishing quickly. Getting a child a big fish does not make up for our short-comings as parents (if only it did). Luckily, spending time with our kids having fun does.

I agree...I will invite my neices and nephews to come fishing at a local pond, and when they get bored (if action is slow) I let them do what they want.
Sure enough when they get bored with whatever they were doing, they come back to fish with me. I do the same thing when I take them ice fishing and get the same results.