Several years ago my then 3-year-old came home from an Easter Sunday afternoon "cruise" with his older brothers with tears streaming down his face. I immediately wrapped my arms around him and questioned why he was so sad. "Adam killed the Easter Bunny!" was his pathetic cry. Hearing snickers from two of my older sons, I turned to face teenagers Adam and Jason who were both smiling from ear to ear. "I didn't mean to!" Adam said in defense of himself. The boys then related how a wild cottontail had run out in front of Adam's vehicle and he was unable to miss the rabbit. They heard it as it hit underneath the vehicle. Thinking they would tease their younger brother whom they adored, they had told him it was "THE Easter Bunny". C
asey's tears flowed for what seemed like forever, although I tried relentlessly to console him. To this day, Casey has not forgotten the day the Easter Bunny died!
When Casey was born, we already had three sons, ages 16, 13, and 10. He quickly became the center of everyone's attention and everyone doted on him. He was a beautiful child and Toby, Adam, and Jason soon found that when they had him in tow, the young ladies were drawn to him like a magnet. Their social lives improved drastically! Moreover, Casey looked up to his brothers and they were inseparable. Like most young children, he be
lieved everything they told him. He also would mimic their actions and like a little monkey, imitate their every move. Regardless of what they were doing, he wanted to do it too. His favorite little shirt said, "I'm just like the Big Boys!" They were truly his heros.
I said all this to stress that children learn from those they spend time with and remember what they see and hear. Our children watch us and will use us as their role models. We mold them into "who" they will be as adults. They are our future and the future of the outdoor sports. It is so important that we always set good examples for our children in every aspect of our lives and this includes our time spent on the rivers and lakes, which leads me to my next subject; trash.
Trash
None of us like folks dumping their garbage in our front yards... neither do the fish. The fish live in the waterways.. it's their homes. Throwing our garbage in the lakes or leaving empty containers and trash on the banks where we've been fishing is not "cool". Our children should be taught to not litter, but if they see us doing it... they're apt to do it too! Pick up your trash! And it wouldn't hurt to carry one of those plastic shopping bags stuffed in your tackle box to put your trash in. Geez, it won't take up that much space!
And if you see someone else littering the banks, don't be a jerk. Just ask them to help you keep our great outdoors litter-free. Yep, you might get your lights knocked out, might even get called a nasty name, but who knows? They might actually pick up their trash and you've set a good example for that child you've taken fishing with you!
As fishermen (and women) our resources are the streams, rivers, lakes, oceans, and the land around them. These resources are precious and have been overwhelmed by industry and us, the people who use them. It is our responsibility to protect them. We should instill a sense of ethics in our young anglers by setting good examples. and changing our attitudes and obeying fishing regulations and respecting other anglers is a major step.
Attitude & Respect
Have you ever attended a Little League Baseball game and saw a parent chewing their kid out for missing a ball? I have! I've even seen a few coaches that I wanted to punch out for their never-ending screaming, ranting, and be-littling. Like Little League, fishing should be fun and children should be taught to understand the value and need for ethical behavior when enjoying the outdoors. And respect for other anglers is a must!
Respect people who are fishing either ahead or below you. Don't crowd them or get in their "space". Several years ago, my husband Tommy and I would frequently fish from a bridge near our home. It was definitely a hot-spot as the fish would stack up along the edge of the bridge in the evenings. We soon "claimed" the bridge as our own. One evening though, when we arrived there was a gentleman fishing in "MY SPOT"!! No doubt you could see the steam coming out of my ears! I was not happy, but decided that I'd be considerate and fish the other end of the bridge. When he reeled in a lunker of a bass though (with my husband's help!), I nearly had a stroke. "That's my bass!" I heard myself say under my breathe. Tommy was laughing as he pulled me aside and petted me a little bit. "I'm gonna push him off my bridge!" I said as the gentleman proudly held his bass up for me to see from MY end of the bridge. Though I didn't, Tommy still teases me about wanting to push a fellow angler into the raging current. My attitude was wrong. I didn't own the bridge, nor was it MY bass. It belonged to the lucky angler who caught it.
We also have fishing regulations and rules for a reason. These regulations are made to help protect our waterways and the fish which inhabit them. These rules should always be followed and children should be taught early on what the rules are... why they are made and why they change from time to time. That doesn't mean that we always have to agree with them. Sometimes I don't, but I always follow them. Fishing license? Yes, I always buy one and if I lose it, I just go and buy another one. It's worth it to be able to spend the day on the river doing something that I love to do. The cost of a license doesn't cost any more than what I'd spend if I was going to take my kids to the movie. In fact, it costs less! Rules are NOT made to break and accepting that fact is part of being a responsible angler.
Responsible fishing
Let's be honest. The best part of fishing is feeling that tug on your line, setting the hook, and squealing with delight as you fight to bring in one of God's beautiful creations. So what about catch and release? Do you have to feel bad about keeping a few to eat? Nope! Not at all! There is nothing better than smoked trout or fresh walleye, but the ethical line is drawn when you take home more than you can possibly eat, you fish out-of-season, keep fish which are too small, or take home more than your limit. Again, if your kids see you do any of these things, they are apt to have the same disrespect and grow up to be irresponsible fishermen.
I often recall the day the Easter Bunny died. Little Casey had no reason to doubt what his older brothers told him. After all, they were his Heros and anything they said or did, had to be correct. In his eyes, they did no wrong. As our children's role models, we must never emit the wrong messages to them. The future of fishing IS OUR CHILDREN. To keep our fishing heritage alive, we must pass on not only our skills and knowledge, but our good fishing ethics as well.
The next time you go fishing with a little one in tow... remember they're watching you!
