Every Little Angler Needs an Old Man

Two young boys and an “old man” walking the bank of a small pond. Sharing an afternoon together casting for anything that will bite. The boys were accomplished anglers for their age. Both began fishing while still wearing diapers. The “old man” was their teacher this day. Like everyday before, the little anglers absorbed all the information the “old man” was willing to share.

Many years ago the “old man” was a student and had his own “old man”, his teacher. They shared similar days on and around the water eager fish called home. He too absorbed all the information his teacher was willing to share. While growing older, becoming a teacher and an “old man” in his own rite, he continued to absorb any information available about fishing. He became more knowlegeable than his teacher, but always gave credit to his “old man” for building the foundation of his education.

As he grew older, he shared all of the knowledge he had aquired with anyone willing to listen. He made it a point to share with young anglers. Doing so, he hoped, would help build another foundation for a lifetime of learning about his favorite outdoor sport. He was developing stewards to take care of the great outdoor arena he would eventually leave to them.

As the two boys learned about fishing, they were also learning about nature. The three of them spent countless hours catching fish as well as observing Mother Nature. They caught frogs, insects, learned to identify plants, trees and weather patterns. Many of the insects they captured became bait for fishing. Many times the insects were tossed into the water and observed until a fish decided to make of meal of them.

As the three of them continue slowly walking the edges of the water, they offer small spinnerbaits and soft plastics to the panfish and bass. The “old man” uses a child size outfit making it easier to hand it to one of the boys when he hooks a fish. The boys always get to reel in any hooked fish. The “old man” dedicates his efforts on these special days to his two little anglers. He has not brought any of his own tackle on this day. He seldom uses anything but the children’s tackle when sharing the water with these boys. The “old man” will ocassionally sneak a couple of casts with his equipment when the boys are exploring the areas around the water. He keeps a watchful eye on them and exploits every opportunity to teach them when they discover something interesting.

They discover an area where deer visit the pond to drink. The boys learn to identify a track left by the deer using the pond for their source of water. Upon closer inspection, it becomes clear turkey and raccoons use the area. The boys spend the rest of the day closely watching the ground for signs of other animal using the pond for water.

After a couple hours, the boys lose interest in fishing but the adventure is not over. The three of them take a walk through the woods seeking new discoveries. The boys do not realize it but the class is still in session. They continue to learn new things about nature and the “old man” discovers he is both a teacher and student.

Note: Both men and women can play the “old man” role and age is a relative thing. My “old man” was my Uncle Larry who always made time to take me fishing. Please remember to include a child in your fishing plans.

Fishing Lessons

Over the years I have been blessed with many fishing partners. Some have become regular partners while others were just a one-time event. All of them have shared knowledge while on the water and I have learned something from every one of them. A few have become a fishing hero of mine..

Many years ago a gentleman took it upon himself to become my mentor and take me fishing at every opportunity we had available. He made time during my spring and summer vacations to teach me everything he knew about fishing for many species but he concentrated on my desire to catch bass. It was this wonderful man, my Uncle Larry, who built the foundation for my love of fishing.

Prior to him making it his job to educate me on tactics and techniques my limited experience of bass fishing had been approached using simple means. Live bait was the best way I knew of for catching bass even though I knew there were many reasons anglers spent hard earned money to buy artificial lures. My knowledge was lacking on how to use anything but live bait and my confidence in using artificial lures was extremely low. I had caught very few bass with lures and looking back it was due to lack of knowledge and confidence in them.

At approximately the age of ten years is when my fishing lessons began. My Uncle Larry took me on many outings and continued to keep the fishing simple using techniques I was comfortable with. While doing so he slowly added information on using many other techniques and was so subtle in doing so I did not realize he was conducting a class.

My most memorable lessons were given on a lake in Georgia that was surrounded with a golf course. If my memory is correct the lake was about 200 acres. The lake had a channel running through it at a depth of about 20 feet. The channel was very pronounced for such a small body of water and had shallower water on both sides creating a drop of about 10 feet into the channel. It was the middle of March in Georgia and the bass were ready to move into the spawning areas. The bass were in the pre-spawn stages and starting to feed heavily. The bass’ first stop on the way to the spawning areas were the edges of this channel and Uncle Larry was ready to teach me how to exploit them.

For over a year I had been carrying two bags of Culprit plastic worms in my tackle box. Both bags were still full but Uncle Larry convinced me to open them. He taught me how to use a Texas rig worm that day and the technique was very productive. We caught many bass that day and kept some for our meal that night. The lesson on that private Georgia lake started something that has still not ended.

My confidence in using plastic worms caused my curiosity to lead me to using many different types of lures. The confidence my uncle helped create kept me using them while in the past I would make a few casts with each and set them aside for more simple techniques. Slowly I began getting better and more confident with every lure type

It was not long before I was not satisfied with walking around a pond or fishing from a rented johnboat. My first boat purchase was a 14-foot johnboat with a 7.5 horsepower motor and I rigged up a mount on the front for a trolling motor. This first watercraft was not a high performance machine but it did widen my opportunities for fishing.

Not long after my first boat purchase I joined a bass club and began competing in tournaments with the other club members. Because my boat was slower and not suitable for tournament fishing I competed as a non-boater. This is where I also learned a lot about bass fishing. Everyone in the club shared information and techniques and I soaked up all the information they were willing to share. This lead to my second and third boat purchases so I would be equipped to compete as a boater in the club and many open tournaments.

Many years and tournaments later I was blessed with the first of two little boys and once again I began learning more about fishing. While I did enjoy the competitive fishing these two little anglers took me back to a time of walking the shores of farm ponds. My years of getting fishing lessons from others made me a better teacher for these two little anglers. While teaching my sons to fish I immediately started them fishing with beetle spin lures small enough for eager bluegill to take. They did not have the patience to watch a bobber float on the pond surface and wait for the fish to come to them so I took advantage of this weakness. Also, this rig made it easier on me by not having to bait hooks. Not only were the bluegill eager to eat these tiny lures some bass up to 14 inches also attacked them. A 14-inch bass on a kid’s small rod gets quite exciting for all involved.

Now my fishing lessons have started all over again from learning the basics to the latest techniques and back to teaching the basics again. I learned two very important lessons from these three anglers. Great relationships develop between anglers regardless of age when they share fishing time together. Also, fishing is just as much fun whether covering a lot of water in high powered boats or walking around a pond with young anglers eager to learn more on each outing.

The Fishing Trip

The fishing trip has been planned for several weeks and the anticipation is growing harder to handle for the young angler. Several weeks may not seem like a long time to a seasoned angler but to a four-year-old several weeks is an eternity. Every morning the questions start about when the weather and water will warm enough to encourage the fish to become eager to entertain a young boy. A two-hour fishing trip to a farm pond can be an insignificant event to an older angler but for the youngster it is similar to an exotic trip to a far away land.

This particular destination is only a 25-mile drive from home for the young angler but the small pond is filled with pan fish and bass that create nonstop action. The fish are eager to eat anything from live bait to almost any artificial offering. The bass are always willing to explode on small topwater offerings and provide acrobatic displays once hooked. The visual excitement of watching a topwater offering and the bass’ willingness to display themselves in such fashion create an exciting outing for any youngster.

This excitement will not hold the attention of a four year old for long. However, the outing is nowhere close to over once the angler’s interest starts to fade. The area is full of open fields and forestland along with two ponds. Walks through the fields and forest are an adventure in themselves. Short walks through the woods provide the sounds of last fall’s leaves crunching beneath little shoes and one sweeping motion of a tiny foot opens up an opportunity to explore the many insects that call the forest home.

The blooming plants provide many colors to explore and an opportunity to pick some wild flowers to present to Mom upon returning home. Some can be identified when discovered while some samples are taken home for further examination and identification. The wild Violets, Dogwood and Red Bud Trees provide wonderful colors in a wooded area still quite thin in vegetation. Stopping to smell them excites the nose and indicates that Mother Nature is coming back to life.

Finding a fallen tree branch provides the youngster a toy as well as a walking stick while on the forest adventure. The toy reminds me of times when toys were simple and did not create entertainment without some imagination. Rocks, another readily available toy, are an excellent choice for the child to ward off the creatures lurking just over the next hill. Any natural noise heard while on the adventure becomes a potential enemy to be dealt with and the sticks and rocks make great tools for this job at hand.

Leaving the shaded cover of the trees create a transition of interesting animals including horses, cattle and one lonely mule. The livestock are huge animals in the eyes of the youngster who just minutes ago were the world’s best angler at the nearby pond. The first question will be “can we ride them?” The next is “can we pet them? Finding that the huge horses are quite gentle and friendly, and like the attention eases some of the uncertainty during the first moments of their discovery. Once the petting has been done we now have several new friends willing to follow us through the field during the next step in this adventure.

With still some uncertainty about the large animals that have just befriended us, the youngster regularly looks over his shoulder keeping a close watch on the horses. Proud of his newly established friendship and not wanting them to lose interest in following us, he is still wondering about their motive for wanting to follow so closely. He does not yet understand that these animals are just a curious about him as he is of them.

We near the pond again where our fishing gear is leaning against a tree waiting for our return. One more attempt to make the water’s surface erupt with excitement is a success. Another eager bass explodes on the topwater presentation offered by the young boy and he again is the world’s greatest angler. His attention is beginning to fade once again and it is time to gather our belongings and embark on a journey home so he can share the fresh picked flowers and the story of him once again confirming his ability as a great angler.

While this short adventure into the outdoors may seem insignificant for some it is one not forgotten by the boy. It is part of the building process that will create a life-long love of the great outdoors. All of the boy’s senses have been subjected to some sort of stimuli and he has had the opportunity to use his imagination. These sorts of situations do not often occur while inside a building, and if they do, certainly not to this degree.