June 15, 2023 at 11:40 a.m.
Fish Like a GIRL
A fun day of fishing with some homeschoolers
I always teach kids to use an open bale spinning reel. It seems fairly easy. If a kid can point their index finger, to me, they can easily learn to use a spinning reel set up. Further, if things get really out of hand, it is easy to take the bale off the reel and clear out any line that might get stuck and wound up under the reel. It happens. Sometimes a lot. So, to me, it is easier to use this type of reel than the closed bale variety, with which I have far less experience.
As I have said before, a good friend owns and operates a STEA2M (science, technology, agriculture, art and math) learning facility in Central Wisconsin. I have been helping her out, teaching the kids about gardening and other fun outdoor things. One of those, of course, is fishing.
Two weeks ago we met and I did my best to attempt to teach five kids in our homeschool class how to cast and pitch with a spinning reel set up. Casting was somewhat okay, because at least two of the boys had a little experience with casting. Pitching was definitely another story. While the technique now comes natural to me, it did take a bit to get used to. I think all of the kids were able to pitch at least once and get the bait out more than a few feet. In our limited class time, I thought that was pretty good.
Last week, my friend and I took the kids to a local pond to see if we could find anything to catch. One of the boys brought his own rod and his father came with him. I took to helping the girls. I have to say here, the oldest of the two told me they were not sure they liked fishing, but they liked it when I was their teacher, so they decided to come. Nothing makes a person feel better than learning an eight-year-old has faith in them, at least in my opinion. It was a neat experience. Neither of them thought they would ever be able to learn how to cast. But by the end of our time together, they were both casting out into the middle of the pond. Even the youngest, who I believe is six, was casting like it was almost second nature.
Now, that is not to say there were not issues. That is not to say I did not spend at least a quarter of the time untangling monofilament from everywhere I never knew it could go. I did. But that was okay. The kids were having fun. Not only where they having fun, but they were learning something that was completely out of their comfort zone. That is a big deal in any situation, but I feel it is especially important in outdoor pursuits. Kids who are never exposed to fishing, hunting or trapping can never make the decision that those things are for them.
I am reminded of an interview I did recently for the newly elected president of the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation. He is big into shooting sports. He told me he would like to see everyone get to shoot, at least once in their life. If, after that, they decide the sport is not for them, he would be fine with that, but he wants to give as many people as possible the opportunity to try. That struck a cord with me.
I felt the same way about these kids, especially the two girls. The boys in the class were pretty outgoing. They were adventurous and kind of "up for anything." The girls, though, were more reserved. They were timid and unsure of themselves at first. Of course, the idea of using only a piece of a worm was something completely foreign to them. One asked what I was going to do about the "worm guts" on my fingers.
"I'll just wipe it on my pants," I told her.
"But you're pants will get dirty," she said, looking at her grandmother and mom, who was holding the family's newest arrival, a baby boy.
"Pants, shmants, right?" I asked. "We don't care about pants. We're fishing."
With that, the mantra became "pants, shmants," which came to mean it didn't matter if we got dirty. It didn't matter if our shoes got wet. It didn't matter what went wrong. We were fishing and we were having fun. That was all there was to it.
It reminded me that life does not always have to be so serious. I do not always have to take myself so seriously, either. Sometimes things can just go wrong, and it is not the end of the world. Sometimes you get dirty in life, and that is OK. Nothing is perfect, but that does not mean it cannot be fun.
Comments:
You must login to comment.