Quote Originally Posted by DarkSkies View Post
Lack of Participation in Fishing......


A Veteran Fisherman friend sent me this, as we were both commenting on the current lack of participation in fishing many surf and bay areas at night...... I think it shows a lot of wisdom and insight....

I see the newer faces want instant reward, don't want to work for it or learn. It's just not about throwing some junk out into the water and hoping to catch, it's about putting your head into the head of a Bass. Learning the type water, the bait, the temps of the water, currents and so on. I find this not to be work, but a satisfaction to an end result."

There is still hope yet for the younger generation, DS. This was posted on another site. By Capt Barb of the One More Drift....I thought it was a fantastic post. Hope its ok to post it here -






"For the last month or two I have not been able to take my family, friends and clients fishing due to a new job I got. Of course I feel bad about it, but I know in time when things settle down I will be able to fish once again.

With this, my son Tom has been for the first time in his life this past month been fishing on his own. Obviously not on my boat, but from the surf on the north shore. Tom has been spoiled for the past ten years fishing because he never really had to hunt for the fish, I always had him fishing in areas that were my locations that I learned on my own that produced fish. Not only did I always get him on the fish, but I also set up his rigs, bait, told him what tide to fish what spot, ect ect.....

So Tom's last two fishing trips (surf) were without me in a territory he has never fished before. I guided him only with what tide he should fish it, what lures to use and the structure he should look for to be successful.

Two trips in and he has not caught a blessed thing. But what has happened here is, Tom is not upset about not catching fish, he for the first time in his life is actually understanding fishing. I am getting all choked up as I type this. This is what I have been wanting him to learn for years, but I guess he never could because I was always with him putting him on the fish because of my knowledge of fishing for so long.

So it is all starting to come together, he finally gets it. When he got home from his trip today he was not upset about not catching anything, he was excited to learn so many new things on his own. He learned what to look for, see the bait, match the hatch, watch the birds working, learn how to cast upstream in the current, watch the other guys fish and work there plugs effortlessly, ect ect.....

Ahhhh, I feel so happy right now, to know my son finally understands what fishing is all about. It's not about bringing home a fish (not that he ever did that, he is a catch and release only), but he understands that fishing is learning the pattern and getting all the elements to come together at that one time to catch a fish. And if you don't catch any fish, you are still a winner because you tried. You experimented on your own. You learned what you will do your next trip out that will be different to make you get that much closer to landing a fish on your own. "

OMD.