Fishing fathers

[riverbasser]

As a new father I have been thinking about the future of my son, one thing I thought about today was if he will share  . My passion for fishing. Especially once he's older and not just doing it to spend time with me.

 

So I'm curious for the fathers out there, how many of your kids share in your passion or if they don't? I'm especially interested in the fathers with grown children. 

[CroakHunter]

I have a 6 month old boy, and an almost 10 year old step daughter. She loves to fish, but mainly I think it's more about hanging out and having fun with me rather than her actually wanting to fish. With him I also wonder if he will like to fish and hunt with me. 

[ThatredneckguyJamie]

2 girls, a 10 yr old and a 14 yr old that's not grown but certainly thinks she is. They have both always enjoyed hunting and fishing with me, mostly I think like you said just to hang out with Dad and eat junk food that Mom wouldn't generally condone. Having said that...as they have both gotten older and developed into "young women", they are much more picky about what constitutes a fun time hanging with Dad and have no problem telling me that. Last summer I had a proud Dad moment when telling my oldest it was time to go...I got the "one more cast Dad" she had taken one of my rods and was out there pitching a worm...it was awesome.

[lo n slo]

my son fished with me alot between the ages of 7-16, but once he got his drivers license, not so much. he just turned 31, he still loves to fish, and we get out on the water every now and then. i have some decent polaroids and great memories.....but i’m now working on my grandson ?

 

make the time if you cant take the time, that goes for the girls too.

[Florida Cracker2]

Nope...neither my son or daughter like to fish. Took my son fishing many times and he caught nice fish, but would rather play vid games. He did however love shooting, so we did alot of shooting. My daughter took after my wife and they tell me how mean it is to catch fish.  So my dad and I do alot of fishing together.

[roadwarrior]

My son (35) loves to hunt, but is not a fisherman.

 

Took my daughter (29) white bass fishing when she was 16.  My buddy and I hooked up with a fish

on every cast, then held it for her to reel in. After 100 fish or so, she went to the back of the boat to

sunbathe and relax. After 30 minutes or so she came back and "fished" for another half hour. I could

tell she was done, so we headed home and stopped for lunch. That was it...I knew after a day like we

had she was never going to be a fishergirl.

 

[Fishing_FF]

I have a 3 year old and 5 year old son. They are the reason I fish. One day out of the blue, they asked if we could go fishing. 

 

What they want is really just to turn the handle on the reel, so throwing out a float with bread or a worm on it for bluegill and sunfish isn't really fishing to them. I've found a couple recreational complexes that have a park and lake in them. We go down to the water, bait hooks, and toss them out. Then we walk to the playground to play. I keep an eye on the floats. I dart back when there is a nibble, and once the kids see a bent pole, they come running too. I keep the fish on the line until the boys get there, letting them reel in the fish. My wife goes, too. She doesn't fish, just tags along. 

 

Just keeping it fun for them now and that's all that is important.

[NYWayfarer]

My son is 14. I started taking him fishing when he was a toddler using a Superman spincast combo. Over the years I took him on lots of trips where I tied his hooks, baited them, unsnagged and untangled his line and most times caught the fish and let him reel them in.

 

He doesn't fish much with me since he has to do those things for himself. This year he has asked for a kayak so he can go with me. I see a new chapter in our fishing opening up soon.

 

My experience has been kids love fishing then they don't until they do again. It depends on what phase of life they are in and if it is still "cool" to hang out with Dad.

[TOXIC]

I have a daughter 20 and a son 38.  My son used to go with me wading and camping on the Shenandoah and we would catch smallmouth by the hundreds.  He moved away from both our house and fishing.  He is in to Tech (that's what he got his degree in and what he works in now) so our time is limited.  I am content on introducing him to the sport and we occasionally go out on trips for him back to visit.  My daughter fished and was pretty much outdoors all of her life but she is an equestrian and that takes up a lot of her free time and she is in college.  They key in keeping kids interested is to make it FUN!!  They won't stick with it if you roast them on 100 degree days and as youngsters you keep them on the water for 12 hours.  

[scaleface]

My son doesnt like fishing at all . The only sporting activity he likes is snow boarding .

[RichF]

Fishing runs deep in my family.  My grandfather got my dad into it.  My dad got me into it. And now, my sister and brother in law are in to it.  I hope my future spawn have the same obsession with it that I do. 

[DINK WHISPERER]

My 8 yr old son won't miss a trip. My 13 yr old daughter, not so much. She goes shopping with her mom. 

[the reel ess]

My daughter doesn't like to fish. She's 13 and into volleyball, clothes, shopping and makeup...not boys yet. She says they're all stupid. She would go kayaking with me when she was younger but she says I fish too long, which is true. Now she would only go if her other option was staying home and doing nothing. Maybe she'll have a boy that I can turn on to fishing if I live long enough.

 

I went with my dad and I ended up much more the fanatic than he ever was. But he kept going with me until he said he was too old to really enjoy it. We went last fall to his buddy's family's pond and he caught a few. he got tired and went and sat on the tailgate with his bud. I'm glad we had that time because he passed in May rather unexpectedly.

[NYWayfarer]

6 minutes ago, the reel ess said:

I went with my dad and I ended up much more the fanatic than he ever was. But he kept going with me until he said he was too old to really enjoy it. We went last fall to his buddy's family's pond and he caught a few. he got tired and went and sat on the tailgate with his bud. I'm glad we had that time because he passed in May rather unexpectedly.

Very sad. My condolences on your loss. My dad recently gave me his rods and reels as he doesn't feel steady enough on his feet to go fishing anymore. I had to start thinking about the fact that he won't be around forever.

[Koz]

I'd say that my 12 year old son has a pretty good time fishing with his old man:

 

We have dozens of lagoons within biking distance so when school is out we fish 3-5 times a week. We don't fish much in the fall and winter because of school and early darkness (bank fishing at night is scary with all of the alligators in our area).

 

Lately he's been excited about the upcoming pre-spawn bass feeding frenzy but we probably won't have a lot of time to fish. Last week he was selected to play for an elite travel baseball team and practice starts today. Most weekends we'll be traveling to his tournaments, but once the days get longer we'll be able to fish a few weeknights.

 

Congratulations on becoming a new Dad. For me it's been the most rewarding - and sometimes the most frustrating - aspect of my life. It may seem hard to believe right now, but the time with your child will pass quickly. It seems like only yesterday I could cradle my son in one arm. Cherish every second of his youth and make some memories.

[Vinjints]

Oldest - nothing outdoors.

Next daughter - likes fishing provided she's producing, and definitely prefers if it's one on one with me (without the boys)

Oldest son - slowly getting into it, likes being able to site panfish.  lowest patience of them all doesn't help, but likes being outside and has eyeballed spinning reels.

Youngest - loves his spiderman spincast, won't give it up.  and always ask to look at my fishing stuff.  dead of winter he's wanting to go out.  but enjoys playing with the tackle and learning about what each piece does and why a fish might like to eat it.  he's also the one known to run around catching butterflies at the ponds.

 

All three of the younger ones liked when I was trying the LTB and MTB boxes, as we would all divvy it up.  Maybe I sign up for a $15 box again so they can continue to get gear - even though all they ever want to use is nightcrawlers.

[Fishinthefish]

I don't think my oldest has the heart for it, can't get his hands dirty. My middle son, plays with plastic soft baits constantly, hes a giant swimbait I got from MTB that I'll never throw (it's something like 5 oz I'll never have a setup to handle swimbaits that large.). He constantly asks to go fishing, he wants to hold the fish, reel the line in, he wants to help me clean reels, play with rods. Play with any lures that don't have a hook on it. Daughter is only two weeks old, so we will see on that one. But my middle son will definitely be a fishermen if I keep bringing him with me an encouraging his behavior. I think this year he is getting his first spincast rod and reel.

[N Florida Mike]

Great subject ! All mine are grown.

My oldest is a natural at bass fishing , and we used to camp and fish before he moved out west with the military. He doesn't fish much anymore but he likes to camp and hike with his wife and kids.

My Middle son would fish 24/7 , and often does. He loves it so much he did it commercially for awhile. He will go anytime, rain, shine , whatever conditions.He is also very good at bass fishing, but prefers saltwater.We still go together at least once every month or two. Fishing ( and the grace of God ) is what kept us from killing each other. He was the hardest one of the 3 to raise.

My daughter doesn't fish much. When she was young , I could be catching them like crazy, and when I would hand her the rod the fish wouldn't bite. She would hand it back and I would immediately get bit.This happened so much she just kind of gave up.

I also have six g-kids. All but the youngest has caught fish with me in my lake behind the house.

The pic is my 12 year old g-daughter mackayla who was teaching her friend (a boy ) to fish and shoot that day. She considers herself a redneck. She can do anything outdoors better than most boys. She is so much fun to hang out with.

Very thankful for the time to fish and spend time with them all.

My dad is the one who started it all , taking me many, many times.

[Bankbeater]

My oldest daughter was never got into fishing.  My youngest daughter started fishing with me when she was about 9.  We would go out to the local lake and catch sunnies, and bluegill.  When she started high school all of that changed.  She is now into track, and cross country.

[the reel ess]

1 hour ago, NYWayfarer said:

Very sad. My condolences on your loss. My dad recently gave me his rods and reels as he doesn't feel steady enough on his feet to go fishing anymore. I had to start thinking about the fact that he won't be around forever.

Spend all the time you can with him. It won't be enough.

[WRB]

Both my son and daughter started fishing with me around age 3 when they could swim.

My daughter is 50 my son 35 and both like to fish If I ask them to go fishing, neither call and ask me to go fishing. Not everyone is wired to fish. My wife likes to go if it's good weather and prefers reading a book over fishing and she grew up fishing. My son is a very skilled bass angler and fishes with me in charity tournaments, he also goes with me tuna and Marlin fishing.

I fished as often as I could as a youngster and still do every chance I get.

Make fishing fun for your kids, good breakfast and lunches and they will enjoy sharing time on the water with you. Expecting your kids to have your passion for fishing may disappoint you, I am happy they go if asked.

Tom

[slonezp]

My son will be 28 this year and aside from a year or 2 in his late teens, he has always had the passion. It runs deep in my family history.

[BuzzHudson19c]

Well I have a 6 month old daughter and I am starting her young. She was five days old and we took her to the river. Mom pushed the stroller and I threw a jig. Today she went with me to field and stream to pick out a new frog rod.

[Catt]

Raised 4 sons & 2 daughters

1 son-in-law & 3 daughter-in-laws

Have 5 grandsons & 7 granddaughters

 

Only one has the passion! ?

[Scott F]

I have no children of my own but a friend that I’ve been fishing with for 10 years has 3. His oldest son, never really fished much. The middle child, a daughter, has fished with her father but never really got into it. The youngest son nearly always came fishing with us starting when he was about 8 or 9. As the years went by, he became quite a good fisherman. He and his dad got pretty serious about muskies (which I don’t enjoy). The son was a junior musky state champ who I’d consider a die hard. Then when he became a junior in high school, he quit fishing all together. He now acts like his dad had to drag him fishing and claims he was never really into it.  He’s in the rebellious phase at the moment and his dad, who was so thrilled that his son was his best fishing buddy, now just hopes that eventually his youngest will get back into fishing someday.