Gone Fishing…

Uncle Salty is retired and spends a lot of time on and around the water. He goes fishing every chance he gets. He loves his wife and he is the proud dad to 3 children and granddad to 4 beautiful grandchildren. You can write to Uncle Salty at unclsalty@yahoo.com

It’s amazing what can happen while you are enjoying a nice day on the water fishing. The main thing to focus on is to have fun and spend quality time outdoors. Children automatically relax, open up, and ask questions and, we get to listen and learn what they are feeling and thinking. If you are the lucky parent or grandparent, uncle, or aunt you may just have opened the window to their soul.

I still think that the best reason to go fishing with children is to make memories. Memories are made away from electronic devices, computers, and television.

There are lots of things to learn about while you pass the time waiting for the big one to bite.

Top on your list may be to promote sharing and taking turns as well as patience since you’ll likely be the one baiting the hook and there is only one of you. Listening to the nature sounds and quietness (shhh, don’t scare the fish away!) may be next.

Some of the best safety education opportunities come up naturally when you go fishing. Water safety, sunburn protection, insects, snakes, and animals, poison ivy and oak. Let’s not forget about being safe around sharp things (fishhooks, etc.). If you are on a boat instead of the bank of the lake, then boating safety.

Protecting our natural resources, conservation, litter prevention and recycling are some other discussions that tend to come up almost automatically when we take our children fishing. It’s important for children to understand how their parents and grandparents feel about issues that affect our surroundings and our environment so that as they grow, they can develop a well-rounded opinion on these subjects as they come up in social situations.

Put that fishing outing on your calendar and repeat it often. Everyone will have a great time and experience a priceless learning opportunity. They can go back home and draw pictures, write fishing stories and tell stories about the big one that got away (ha, ha).

Yes, it is more work if you use live bait but it’s worth it. It is awesome to see a child catch his or her first fish. Have fun and keep your bait wet!

Uncle Salty

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