Kid fishing Stories...........

[GeoFisher]

For those of us who have kids or have fished with kids.

Share your stories.....Here are a couple about both of my kids.


Many years ago, when my oldest daughter was 10 or 11 years old, we went to Deam Lake in Southern Indiana. It was a mid March trip. Water was still pretty cold, but I needed to get out, and she wanted to go with me.

We pull into one of my favorite spots and start fishing. I'm fishing a jig and pig, and my oldest daughter us using a quad spin titanium spinnerbait........she LOVED the 4 spinners and how shiny they were

I'm really working the bait slow, trying to finess something into biting, as I know the odds are low. Again, water was cold, but things were on the move, and we had a few solid days of good weather.

As I'm fishing, I look over to my daughter, who is using a berkely lightning rod with a zebco 33 reel. I notice that she is hopping the spinnerbait just like I was hopping the jig. I looked over to her and told her that spinnerbaits are supposed to be moved a little, and tell her to slowly start cranking it in.......

She started cranking and the next thing I saw was the spinner bait, and a mouth the size of a basketball about 3 ft below the surface. the bait disappeared and the rod loaded up like CRAZY. This was the single largest bass I had ever seen. The pole doubled over and she's using everything she has to hang on. Just then, the fish turns and runs, and breaks the 10lb line on the zebco reel.

The rod, which was fully loaded springs back, and smacks her squarely in the face, leaving a nice red welt down the middle of her forehead.

My daughter started to sniffle a little, and with a small tear welling up.....the only thing she said was.......Dad.....did you see that humongous bass....

I will remember that day forever.

[GeoFisher]

Quetico Fishing.

Many of you know that I go to Quetico every year. When my youngest daughter turned 12, I started taking her. She's been on 7 trips with me, and is going this summer again. She simply LOVES going.

A few years ago, on her second trip to Quetico, we were having fantastic luck with the smallie and largmouth bass in Quetico, but had not caught a single walleye. My daughter insisted that smallies were too pretty to take back and eat, so if we were going to eat fish, we had to catch walleye.

The smallie action was so good, no one wanted to move to deeper waters, and target the walleye. Finally she got to a point where she was going to catch walleye or catch nothing. She started throwing off the other side of the canoe in 30-40 ft versus the 10-20 ft we were fishing for smallies.

I told her she was going to have a hard time catching walleyes, but she just gave me a look like "year RIGHT".

She threw her smoke red/flake tube out the deep side, waited for it it hit the bottom and then started slowly reeling, like a swimbait. BOOM.......I was sure it was a northern, but up came a quality eater walleye.

She did this for the next 30 minutes and ended up catching 5 or 6 quality, EATER sized walleye.

Yet another story that I will cherish forever.

[SLP]

Both great stories I enjoyed reading them, thanks for sharing. I hope my son and daughter end up being as skilled a fisherman as your daughter.

[Tyme2fish]

I was fishing on the Kentucky river at the mouth of the Dix with my former brother-in-law and my youngest son.

We were slowly moving up into the Dix with my son sitting at the stern seat. He was only 5 or 6 years old at the time and I baited him up with a live night-crawler and just instructed him to let it "trail" behind the boat.

He hooked up with a drum that measured over 36 inches in length. He fought it for a good time and we landed the fish and put the catch in the boat and raced back to the dock to show Momma the fish. The fish was released after we took some pictures. I sure wish I knew where those photos are now.

[DJD]

When my daughter was real young, about 5 years old I used to take her to Jacobson park to fish for panfish. She loved it and would play with the worms when she got bored but when she was actually fishing she would watch the float (and put some action on it...thats what i called it..basically move it a little) and talk about off the wall stuff that didn't mean anything but to her was important.
I would have a Ball cap on her head backwards and she usually had a set of overalls on...she looked soooo cute! She would catch fish and attract a crowd of little kids who have never fished. It was so funny because she would explain to them on how to do it and look up and say right daddy right!?!?! Man I miss that sweet, innocent little girl!! Hahaha
While in Florida last year we were fishing and talking (she is 16 now) and to me it was very rewarding to watch her setting the hook and fighting the ladyfish and small snapper. I know you have to cherish those times because they don't last forever!!!
I have many stories of me and my Dad fishing but the thing that I remember the most is floating on a raft while he and his buddy would dive for Conchs in Key West and watching him and his buddy running small sharks around in the shallows.

[peter]

I will remember that day forever.

Those days and moments fishing and on the water with the kids that will never be forgotten...there are many. That's as lucky as it gets.

[jcb]

I discovered a trick to keep kids having fun even when the fish weren't biting much.

Take a cooler, fill it with about 3" of fresh water, and put a bluegill in it. My daughter, when she was 4, spent 2 hours catching and recatching that fish with her hands. When she'd grab it, it would try to escape and make a drum roll sound when its tail smacked the cooler. Never forget my daughter's squeals of delight.

[mhall]

I would be lieing if I told you guys my eyes weren't welling up a bit reading these stories as they bring back ones of my own. As you get older you get much more sentimental I have learned...

Sam my daughter and I were fishing Cumberland one afternoon on the tip of Island Island, yes its a stupid name for an Island but that its name no kidding. We were catching the tar out of small largeheads but mainly 10 to 14 inch Spots on YoZuri jerkbaits. We were both using spinning tackle and I think she was around 10 or 11 at the time. We were catching quite a few and having a great time. It was early summer and the wave makers were out in force. I looked back there and noticed she was watching boats and waves and waiting to cast. I say, ''Sam whatcha doing keep casting'', to which she tells me Dad I don't know if you've noticed but we are only catching one when the waves come by an stir them up. I laugh and think to myself that has nothing to do with it but I don't say that. Sure nough here comes some big cruiser waves, she waits and casts right into them and catches a decent Spot. So I think is there something to this. I try it myself and dang if I don't get one like that to. It seemed that everytime those big waves would come through the pod of threadfin that was near and around the boat would get stirred up and get those Spots and Largemouth all jacked up.
She caught onto that way before her Dad and of course told her Mom and grandparents all about it...
Now she has her own place and is a grown beautiful young woman and will be 23 in June. I wish she would go fishing with me now, maybe she will again once she gets a little older and slows down some.....
Nice thread George....I liked reading all your stories and the other fellas to...Real nice...

[DJD]

You ain't kidding Mark this stroll down memory lane and all the stories made my eyes well up a little as well.

[Bandit1]

A couple years ago Austin & I were partners in a bass club that has since parted ways. Anyway, our first tournament was on Barren, well I have this spot in early spring that I can wear them out in but you have to go through inches of water to get to it. So we get to it & start fishing, catching some short ones, well, we get to this flat & all heck breaks loose in the back of the boat. Austin throws his shad rap up on this flat & start reeling it ever so slowly, alot slower than I was as he has more patients than I do, anyway, all of the sudden I hear "Dad, Dad, I got one". I turn around and his pole is doubled over. Me knowing this was it if we get it in the boat. He fights & fights, it comes up to the surface & its about 4 lbs. He is having a ball fighting this thing & I am a nervous wreck. All of the sudden it darts under the boat & I feel it hit the bottom of the boat, it hit it that hard, suprised it didn't knock itsel out. Next thing I know he pulls in the bait with no fish. It seems like this fight went on for 15 minutes & I know it was a meer 20- 30 seconds. The fish hit the bottom of the boat hard enough to un hook itself. He was mad, (Had an Ike moment so to speak). After a couple minutes of sitting down going "But Dad it was right there & it got off". I tell him thats why they call it fishing & not catching. We go in & come in 3rd by about 2 lbs. Still a good day with him.

Later that year we have a tournament on the River out of Rocky point. It rains so hard that morning that all we can do is sit under the bridge and wait it out. It was cold and windy. We tie to the bridge to try to stay somewhat dry. When the rain calms down we head out to our first spot as Deer creek is rising and getting muddy. We get there, we fish for a couple hours & not even a bite. So we just start driving & looking for cleaner water. We find it & he says Dad, can I use your pole for a second. I say sure & hand it to him & we start fishing. I start to troll & he says Dad, hang on, so I stop us. He flips out & BAM. First keeper of the day. He sees it laying in the shallow water, I do not. We stay in this spot all day and end up with 4 & come in second. He is so excited to win something he cant stand it & all the way back to New Wash. that is all he can talk about is that day of fishing.

Later that same year we have a tournament at Duffy's. We atke off that morning, a perfect morning might I add. We fish for a while & we head to another spot. We get there & we fish for a bit & then we run into this school of bass all about 10- 11 inches long. We sat there for about two hours catching those & had an absolute blast. I bet we catch 20- 30 all together. That was better than winning anything the tournament had to offer. Until this day when he sees the spot he goes "remember when we caught all those bass right there? That was a good day."

He just turned 13 on the 9th, Time goes by so fast. Seems like just yesterday I was rocking him to sleep at night & only dreaming of the days we could fish together.

There are so many more days I can remember from Dale Hollow to Rough River to other tournaments. He is just growing up to fast.

I am sure that when he sees this he will respond to it also.

Jason

Jason

[mhall]

You ain't kidding Mark this stroll down memory lane and all the stories made my eyes well up a little as well.

I am not totally sure you and I weren't separated at birth, how old are you again Don, lol???

[austin30900]

A couple years ago Austin & I were partners in a bass club that has since parted ways. Anyway, our first tournament was on Barren, well I have this spot in early spring that I can wear them out in but you have to go through inches of water to get to it. So we get to it & start fishing, catching some short ones, well, we get to this flat & all heck breaks loose in the back of the boat. Austin throws his shad rap up on this flat & start reeling it ever so slowly, alot slower than I was as he has more patients than I do, anyway, all of the sudden I hear "Dad, Dad, I got one". I turn around and his pole is doubled over. Me knowing this was it if we get it in the boat. He fights & fights, it comes up to the surface & its about 4 lbs. He is having a ball fighting this thing & I am a nervous wreck. All of the sudden it darts under the boat & I feel it hit the bottom of the boat, it hit it that hard, suprised it didn't knock itsel out. Next thing I know he pulls in the bait with no fish. It seems like this fight went on for 15 minutes & I know it was a meer 20- 30 seconds. The fish hit the bottom of the boat hard enough to un hook itself. He was mad, (Had an Ike moment so to speak). After a couple minutes of sitting down going "But Dad it was right there & it got off". I tell him thats why they call it fishing & not catching. We go in & come in 3rd by about 2 lbs. Still a good day with him.

Later that year we have a tournament on the River out of Rocky point. It rains so hard that morning that all we can do is sit under the bridge and wait it out. It was cold and windy. We tie to the bridge to try to stay somewhat dry. When the rain calms down we head out to our first spot as Deer creek is rising and getting muddy. We get there, we fish for a couple hours & not even a bite. So we just start driving & looking for cleaner water. We find it & he says Dad, can I use your pole for a second. I say sure & hand it to him & we start fishing. I start to troll & he says Dad, hang on, so I stop us. He flips out & BAM. First keeper of the day. He sees it laying in the shallow water, I do not. We stay in this spot all day and end up with 4 & come in second. He is so excited to win something he cant stand it & all the way back to New Wash. that is all he can talk about is that day of fishing.

Later that same year we have a tournament at Duffy's. We atke off that morning, a perfect morning might I add. We fish for a while & we head to another spot. We get there & we fish for a bit & then we run into this school of bass all about 10- 11 inches long. We sat there for about two hours catching those & had an absolute blast. I bet we catch 20- 30 all together. That was better than winning anything the tournament had to offer. Until this day when he sees the spot he goes "remember when we caught all those bass right there? That was a good day."

He just turned 13 on the 9th, Time goes by so fast. Seems like just yesterday I was rocking him to sleep at night & only dreaming of the days we could fish together.

There are so many more days I can remember from Dale Hollow to Rough River to other tournaments. He is just growing up to fast.

I am sure that when he sees this he will respond to it also.

Jason

Jason

I do remember every bit of those stories!!!! It is a pleasure to have a dad like I do!!!!!! By the way, we went to go see in my mind the best fishermen in the world, Kevin van dam at bass pro shops in Clarksville a few weeks ago!!!! Had a blast!!!! I just love fishing and hunting itself. It's just in my blood. You could ask anybody in my family that every shirt I have has either hunting, fishing, or iu on them!!!! Thank u very much dad!!!!!