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It is actually the second but the 1st one was a while ago and he was too young to really participate. He is 13 now and turning into a very good fisherman. He was pumped.He loved passing the walleye boats on the way to our spot. Get there and I had a solid 3 pounder on up to the boat and he stabbed it with the net. It looked like he was about to curl up into a ball and suck his thumb. I grabbed him, looked him in the eyes, and said “It is ok, it was barely hooked and you did the right thing by going for it”. He got over it quick as I got a 5lber on in the next couple casts and he succesfully netted the fish. We went on to bring in over 17lbs which up here would win most events but the bite is unreal right now and we ended up in 7th. He did get a 4lber and about 15 other smaller walleyes. It was an absolute blast! I am not the greatest dad in the world and I struggle to find something that we can bond over. As he gets older he wants to hang out with his friends more then us. We needed this. He is a great kid and this most definitely made us closer. We have another much larger tournament this coming Sunday. I will be sure to get some pics this time. The smile on his face at the end of the day was one of the happiest moments of my life.
Rich, I can relate. Since 2005 my Dad and my two boys started making an annual trip to Eagle Lake, Ontario for smallmouth fishing. It was something all of us looked forward each year. There is Nothing I can think of that I would trade for those memories, and as you said…bonding time with our kids. They learn many important values when we introduce them to the outdoors, and in my case to my Dad. They always enjoy spending time with Grandpa. Rich, thanks again for sharing. Bill
Awesome! BR200 and I started fishing tournaments in the Like Father Like Son trail when he was 6 or 7. He is 21 now and we wtill enjoy fishing tournaments together. Thousands of memories. Is it all about fishing????? NO! it is about life and the learning that comes with it. He learned early about planning, preperation, decision making etc. Oh yeah, most importantly, making friends.It was funny. Turn back the clock to when 200 was 6 and we were on our way to Lake Hartwell and he and I were discussing where we were going to fish in the morning, what we were going to use, starting out places etc. ( I guess that is pretty cool conversation with a 6 year old, huh?) My wife said I should try to find a tournament trail that involves kids….get him involved. So Sunday, we come in from fishing and my father in law says check out this article in the Atlanta Journal. The outdoor writer had written an article about a new tournament trail coming to Lake Lanier….The article was an interview with Lake Lanier guide Joe Crosby and he said the trail is called Like Father Like Son and its main focus was on tournaments for fathers and sons/daughters. Yep, we signed up that week. Was it divine intervention??? YES it was. We fished with them until they went away. We qualified for several national championships and I know every tournament we fished, at least one of the fish we weighed in was caught by him.It is pretty good when a 21 year olds main focus is fishing and if he is not fishing, he is planning a fishing trip. No trouble out of that young man at all. Yep, he has a girl friend and she likes fishing too. Turkey and deer hunting too.Rich, keep that boy on the water and keep us posted on tournament journals.
Thanks! We fished out second event this last Sunday. Pulled into a spot and threw out a slip-bobber. Within seconds it was down. This is a big fish spot so I told him to take it. He gave it about 20 seconds before setting the hook. The fish sat there the whole time which is a tell tale sign it is big. The adrenaline was running high for both of us. On the hook set it looked like he was snagged until it started to move. I knew it was a dandy. Here is was. Not the biggest he ever caught but still a nice fish.We ended up in 31st out of 89 boats. We had 20 mph winds with gusts over 30 and we are open water fishing. Not good conditions to say the least and I kept calling him an iron man. We had a blast. I am envious of you BR400 and I hope that our path follows similar to yours. This whole experience has definitely brought us closer. Last edited by richstadler on May 23rd, 2012, 5:20 pm, edited 1 time in total.
There is NOTHING better than introducing the young ones to this sport and spending the quality time with them!! I have fished tournaments with both of my sons in a local club geared toward family participation. My wife is my usual partner and we fish the BBT, which is a direct competitor of AC-WRL and FPT, circuit together. We just qualified for the TOC at Clear Lake, so the next two tourneys are going to be with my sons, individually. My 10 year old wants to fish McClure and my 11 year old wants to fish the Cal Delta (like father like son there!!) Memories they will have with them forever, thats certain!On a side note, the first fish caught on our BassCat was by my 11 year old. It was a 6 pound Florida strain large mouth at Hensley Lake. Not only did he break 3 pounds, which required a reproduction mount based on a deal I made with him several years ago, but he outfished me that day, which requiresd him getting his own Dobyns Champion rod of his choice (on my dime) based on another deal I made with him last year.
brings back memories of me, my dad and my grandpa fishing reel foot as an annual fathers day trip. I can hear hootie and the the blowfish in the back ground everytime i remember those trips. Congrats on fishing with your son, it seems that is the only thing me and my dad get to do together these days and they are few and far between as life just keeps gettin busier than ever
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