When you know a kid gets it

Started by Shellbelly, December 02, 2022, 07:57:41 AM

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Shellbelly

I didn't know where else to post this.

This is an old photo of my son, now 32.  It's December during a tough "blue norther" at Matagorda beach.
He never complained or whined and kept an eye on that rig the whole time...all day.  He made sure the line stayed tight in the washing machine surf.  I know he was cold because I sure was.  We'd warm up a bit in the truck and he'd get out, check his line, adjust his drag a little and make sure his clicker was on.  We had food but he didn't eat much...too busy.  Everything about that day was rough and wet.  The beach was a mess just like the surf.  He brought in two slot reds and lost a really big fish that day.  I hovered close, but he didn't need much from me....mainly casting and dragging his fish up.  He fished and cut bait.  All I needed to do was make up for his small stature.

Some might say it was negligent for taking this child out on a day like this.  I say it's days like this that prove ones determination to accomplish something.  It had to happen sometime no matter how you slice it.  On the way home he said we should've brought lights and the generator.  It got down to 28 with 30 mph winds that night.  He wanted to stay...obviously not really knowing what that would be like.

So, we take our kids fishing on beautiful days and teach them all the basics that we know and they catch fish...sometimes really big fish and a lot of them.  We (he and I) needed to know if he was willing to endure some foul weather.  I firmly believe that's necessary.  Today, that man will fish in any weather that's survivable simply because he loves to fish and "gets it".  He knows what fishing is.  My older son knows how to fish but could care less about fishing.  I'm OK with that...sort of.  It's not for everyone...I guess.  There are only a few ways to find out.  Don't shelter them from some of the "imperfections" of fishing.  It's not all rainbows and sunshine.  They need to know that and you need to show them.  Then they can truly decide how to enjoy it on their terms.  My opinion, of course.

Oh, I still get it, but I get picky about the weather these days.  Me and the blue northers don't get along anymore...something about sleet, I think. 
"Little boy,  you can get glad in the same pants you just got mad in."  (My Momma)
"You shot it boy, you're gonna clean it and eat it".  (My Dad)

Hardy Boy

Love the picture ! Got to tuff it out some times and for sure it shows a kid that loves fishing. That would have been me as a kid. I could fish all day and would only stop when the folks made me eat something.


Cheers:

Todd
Todd

Keta

#2
You did good.   BTW,  Try winter steelhead and ice fishing.
Hi, my name is Lee and I have a fishing gear problem.

I have all of the answers, yup, no, maybe.

A man who carries a cat by the tail learns something he can learn in no other way.
Mark Twain

foakes

#3
Thanks for sharing that, Shellbelly —-

I think it is the rough days that make us good fishermen.

Perseverance, patience, hope, and an appreciation of the outdoors.

I think I can recall in detail, nearly every tough fishing trip over the last 60 years of fishing since I was 10 years old.

Hiking 5 miles uphill 2000' to fish Nellie Lake at 9000' through 2' of snow.  Lake iced over except for one spot where a creek poured in.

Fishing Huntington when I couldn't see my line in a cloud because electricity had made the line into an upward arc.

Coming back across Monterey Bay in a 21' Bayliner with 10' waves at close intervals — just to get back to Moss Landing after Salmon fishing.  (Had to manually unclench my butt-cheeks after that one).

Fishing Bridgeport on 10/31/80 (last day of the season, snow on the ground, in my 16' Boston Whaler) —- having to break ice out of the rod guide holes before each cast or when retrieving a fish.

Getting into Wishon 3 weeks ahead of the main gate opening by going up a 4WD road through Black Rock & Ross Crossing.  Camping in 2' of snow.

And many others —- they all build character, outdoor skills, and memories.

I am impressed with your son, and you.

Best, Fred
The Official, Un-Authorized Service and Restoration Center for quality vintage spinning reels.

D-A-M Quick, Penn, Mitchell, and ABU/Zebco Cardinals

--

I never make the same mistake twice.

I make it 5 or 6 times, you know, just to be sure.

"Enjoy the little things in Life — For someday, you may look back — and realize that they were the big things"
                                                     Fred O.

alantani

send me an email at alantani@yahoo.com for questions!

Shellbelly

Thanks gentlemen.  He'll be here for Christmas and we'll be going out there.  Now I have to keep from whining and complaining if it's uncomfortable.  Can't wait...he's so serious and it's fun to watch.
"Little boy,  you can get glad in the same pants you just got mad in."  (My Momma)
"You shot it boy, you're gonna clean it and eat it".  (My Dad)

happyhooker

#6
At the time, it seems awful rough to do something like that "just" to go fishing, but when you look back at it years later, things often look a lot different.  What do they say during some trying times?  "We'll look back on this some day and chuckle."  It's like inflation these days; sometime in the future, someone's grandkids are gonna think that $4 for a carton of eggs was cheap.

With this youngster, he probably was cold that day, but now looks back on it as just another "different" day at the old fishing hole.  Time grants you a different perspective on things.

Frank

Gfish

Great stories.
Can't really define it, myself. For some it's a fun obsession, for others, a sometimes fun distraction. When I was younger I was obsessed with getting the the hook-up, now it's mainly about getting out there.
Fishing tackle is an art form and all fish caught on the right tackle are"Gfish"!

JasonGotaProblem

My first day picking back up fishing as an adult was after setting up a tent the night before in heavy rain 40mph winds and 40°F temps. It happened to be a great day to fish, with like 30 fish caught. But I think the adventure of it all was what really solidified for me that yes i did miss fishing and definitely needed to start again.

But if I were to suggest bringing my son on such a trip, the "it" my wife would be convinced my son would get, would be pneumonia.

It's tough to raise tough kids these days. Not impossible but not easy. I'm working on it.
Any machine is a smoke machine if you use it wrong enough.

Shellbelly

Quote from: JasonGotaProblem on December 03, 2022, 02:00:09 PMNot impossible but not easy. I'm working on it.
I see that.  They don't have to go anywhere.  Everything in the world is on a screen.  I think you have to get them out in the real world before the "screen world" replaces their reality.

My dad would turn the TV off at 9PM and that was it.  I kept a little transistor radio under my pillow. 8) 
"Little boy,  you can get glad in the same pants you just got mad in."  (My Momma)
"You shot it boy, you're gonna clean it and eat it".  (My Dad)

Glos

+ His body gets some good roughening, needed for better immunity later in life.
And also, I was a kid like that.
If I`m going, I`m going.
If I`m there, I stay.
Luck is when good preparation meets opportunity.

Cuttyhunker

Keta,
I'll keep waiting for the freeze over here in Florida, thank you very much 8)
Doomed from childhood

Gfish

Quote from: Glos on February 11, 2023, 01:58:02 PM+ His body gets some good roughening, needed for better immunity later in life.
And also, I was a kid like that.
If I`m going, I`m going.
If I`m there, I stay.

Yes. I don't go with people that wanna punk-out, what I consider to be early. If I think I can eventually do something to get bit, I try'n tough it out. Gotta admit though, I punk-out nowadays on my own plans for high-winds.
Fishing tackle is an art form and all fish caught on the right tackle are"Gfish"!

Shellbelly

Quote from: Gfish on February 11, 2023, 11:42:50 PMYes. I don't go with people that wanna punk-out, what I consider to be early.
Yep, I've had quite a few folks want to go out there.  I always warn them that once we hit the beach, there's no phone service, no restrooms, and no turning back.  They are going to get the full experience of a DAY of surf fishing.  Some loved it and others lost interest very quickly. 

One guy stayed scared of getting stuck and stranded most of the day.  Another caught more redfish than he had ever seen in his life and literally had tears in his eyes when he landed a 44" fish.

Even when they don't seem to like it, I try to show them something about the beach they've never seen before.
"Little boy,  you can get glad in the same pants you just got mad in."  (My Momma)
"You shot it boy, you're gonna clean it and eat it".  (My Dad)