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Posts: 32784
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | And he should know.
http://muskie.outdoorsfirst.com/articles/07.20.2015/8766/Landahls.b...
We don't see it as much because Muskie is the fastest growing segment in fresh water. It's real, and it's not good for more reasons than one can post in a few minutes.
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Posts: 2004
| Get kids moms and kids involved. Nothing like a tiny fish, and then a good size snapper to light up a little girls face. And earn mom's boyfriend some bonus points!
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Posts: 81
| I recently talked with a conservation agent here in Missouri and he told me that their tracking indicates that within 15 years the number of fisherman/hunters will be roughly half of what it is now. A lot of it has to do with the loss of older participants and the fact that a good number of today's youth would rather be inside on one of their electronic devices than outside. When I was a kid my parents couldn't keep me in the house....there was always a farm pond that needed my attention. |
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Posts: 815
Location: Waukee, IA | Well honestly, it's not as "cool" to fish as it is to ride around on somebody else's daddy's ski boat. Examine the 16 year old male psyche, would you rather hang out with girls in bikinis all day or slap at horse flies... Hello! I started fishing with my dad and grandpa's when I was very young, so I already had the itch badly enough to ignore my social life in high school, which I honestly regret. Let's face it, society is different than 20, 30, 40, 50 years ago. Fishing has no appeal to a crowd that has easier, sexier things to be doing than spending absurd amounts of time and money fishing. Sure some people still start very young, sure some pick it up later in life, just not as many. |
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| My wife and I some times volunteer to work at the boat landing on our chain as part of the clean water/clean boats program. One thing we have noted is how few of the anglers we see have kids with them. It is almost always adult males, and an occasional couple. The few times there were kids along, they were all excited and the dads were beaming.
When our kids were young, we didn't have a boat, but we camped and shore fished. They still like to fish when they get the chance.
I think part of the issue may be that some guys take fishing so seriously, they don't take kids along. Honestly, some of the guys that I see who are going musky fishing when working at the landing, you would think they were going off to perform brain surgery or something. Kids are not going to be interested in that kind of dead serious, structured to the max attitude. |
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Posts: 13688
Location: minocqua, wi. | Great Article ... in many cases the clubs don't get it either. Fishing to moms becomes a bad thing and it disrupts families unless kids are involved early and often. in our case we left mom behind but in all too many cases the kids are the ones wondering when dad will get home and always wonder why they don't get to go. that stuff is just plain sad and happens too much for the selfish interests of the fisherman. |
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Posts: 20178
Location: oswego, il | I am about to write another article about taking your kids fishing and how many are going about it all wrong. Many kids fishing with their father are just a disruptive afterthought. I have written a couple articles about equipment and why it is important. Too many fathers are too busy fishing to take the time and PATIENCE to be fishing with their children.
Then there is the giant marketing machine gaming and electronics that is impossible to.compete with. |
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Posts: 64
| You can't make it about yourself when the kids are along fishing. My 7 year old just started casting this year for the first time. I just let him dictate how long the trip is. He can usually make it about an hour then he wants to go back to the dock -- no problem. You have to make it fun for them and they will grow into it. When I take other little ones panfishing I don't even bring a rod for myself -- I'm just the worm baiter, fish taker-offer, line-untangler..etc. |
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Posts: 523
| Over the past few years I have volunteered for our local take a kid fishing event. This year I got my summer school students involved by bringing 15 of them to the event to fish with local volunteer guides. It was great to see all the smiles and enthusiasm toward fishing. At the end of the day they were already asking if they could come back next year! It was/is aesome to get kids outside and connecting with nature rather than sitting inside glued to a tv or iPad. |
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Posts: 20178
Location: oswego, il | If I fish with my kids in the boat I fish for something they or not or I don't fish at all. Be a guide, teach them right, give them equipment that functions best for them at their age. Give them action. They will fish for longer intervals and want to fish more if you are patient, nobody is frustrated and catching fish. |
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Posts: 4343
Location: Smith Creek | I think everyone needs to actually follow the link Dave provides in his article. The decline of participation he mentioned mainly took place in 07-08 with the recession and has held steady and in some years grown since then. You see a lack of participation from some age segments, mainly the 16-30 year olds. Why? Cause fishing can be expensive, and people have to work more nowadays (for less) just to put food on the table. Especially those just joining the workforce and starting families.
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Posts: 1168
| Flambeauski - 7/21/2015 11:17 AM
I think everyone needs to actually follow the link Dave provides in his article. The decline of participation he mentioned mainly took place in 07-08 with the recession and has held steady and in some years grown since then. You see a lack of participation from some age segments, mainly the 16-30 year olds. Why? Cause fishing can be expensive, and people have to work more nowadays (for less) just to put food on the table. Especially those just joining the workforce and starting families.
I agree with the gist of this. The recession took it's toll not only on those getting involved in the outdoors but other areas of recreation as well. The disposable income just isn't there like it once was.
There also is the mindset present that you need to have a 40k-50k boat in order to get out on the water. Costs start adding up and people can't justify spending the money they think it costs to get involved in something. Any hobby is expensive but you can still catch fish from a rowboat, from shore, etc. Add to this the fact that the younger generation is lazy. There are exceptions but for the most part they are lazy. They don't know how to order off of a menu unless they can say "I'll have a number 1." Information needs to be instant and if it isn't then they give up. There is a lack of appreciation for the journey involved in learning.
The focus is on muskie fishing on this site and that is an area where more and more are fishing each year....now take a look at how many younger people are getting into trout fishing. There's been a significant shift there for a number of years and it's something people can get into relatively cheap. You have a vehicle, you don't need to spend an insane amount of money on equipment in order to float worms down a small stream. No need for waders this time of year, just wear jeans. Very cheap but the walking through brush part triggers that lazy chromosome in kids. They just don't want to do it because it's "too hard." |
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Posts: 13688
Location: minocqua, wi. | is the younger generation lazy? or are their parents lazy?? ... i say the latter is more true ...
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Posts: 1828
| "I would like to take this opportunity to bash younger people. You may find it difficult to make the connection to this topic, but thank you for listening." |
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Posts: 4343
Location: Smith Creek | Ulbian is right. Young people are lazy. Sled is also right. They are raised to be lazy. Mom and Dad (or just Mom) buy McDonalds for dinner and let the TV watch the kids for the afternoon/evening. |
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Posts: 2004
| jonnysled - 7/21/2015 10:54 AM
is the younger generation lazy? or are their parents lazy?? ... i say the latter is more true ...
Exactly! The reason I took that little girl fishing and was the one responsible for getting her first fish was because her dad was too lazy to take her... His loss, my gain. People have lost connection to the outdoors. Take away the games and kids will play. |
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Posts: 1828
| I don't really see a lot of that, but it must actually be the norm because a whole lot of people say so.
But it's not the old timers I have to compete with for the best secluded duck ponds, deer areas, and back-country lakes and rivers. And here where I work, the new hires work circles around the old timers. Maybe my experiences aren't a good indication of the whole group.
Edited by jaultman 7/21/2015 11:30 AM
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Posts: 13688
Location: minocqua, wi. | not all kids are born self-motivated so it takes time and consistency to motivate them and hold them accountable. it's mundane, constant and thankless but it's also one of the most rewarding thankless jobs you could ever take on as a parent. sticking to your guns is hard but i don't buy into parents getting off the hook for their lazy kids. no different than the dog i intend to train and never do story i've heard and seen as the norm.
if you don't want the tough job that comes along, don't have kids and don't get a dog ...
had a dad and his kids join us here for like 5 days last year around Christmas and he complained about not being able to peel the kid off of his computer. so, i did it. truth was i was peeling both of them out of their comfort zone. by the end of the 5 days he had ATV'd, ice fished, gone tubing, ice-skating and downhill skiing. we even caught him on a photo smiling a few times. i just simply told him he didn't have the choice and that he was going to be forced to come with us and his only choice was if he enjoyed it or not but not until he did it. i hear he's already working his dad and step-mom to come back up north for another visit. in this case the dad and the kid had not connected because he left parenting to the mother. it was cool spending time with both of them outside their comfort zones and help remove some of the frustration that had built such a big wedge between them ... they both resented each other.
the easy road would be to leave him home with food etc... and go have a good time without dealing with the "problem". i think that's what lots of fishing dads choose to do. i see the same trend ... dads fishing alone or dads fishing with other dads and no kids to be seen anywhere. i'd like to get my kids out of work or off the golf course to fish with me a little more often but instead i just grab some other kids i know to go with me. |
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| Take a kid fishing? Whaaaa? I'd have to brush this pyramid of chip crumbs off my chest, roll off the couch (aka the farting bench), stand up (god forbid) and drive to the lake. It's the outdoors,,,where bugs and sunshine live. Isn't there a fishing video game I can buy from the comfort of my own misery?  |
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Posts: 8716
| You can't blame the kids. With all the electronic toys and instant gratification available at their fingertips, they sure aren't going to decide to take up fishing on their own. I sound like an old fart, but when we were kids our parents turned us loose outside to go make our own fun. My parents took me to WI every weekend, handed me a fishing rod, a pellet gun, and a pocket knife and said "have fun. Dinner's at 6:00..."
I guess you can't do that with a kid today. Most families don't have access to those environments. If they do, they lack the money to take the kids anywhere, and with both parents working lack the time to really dedicate to it.
Look back at the life you had growing up... I know everyone is different, but my father worked and my mother stayed home. We went away every weekend, because my mother was home all week taking care of everything so we COULD be gone on weekends. With two working parents and the 50-60 hours it often takes to have a career, when are parents supposed to take the kids anywhere and take them fishing? Most parents I know are barely making it through their own lives from day to day. The young guys I know with kids who still manage to fish once in a while are doing it to get away from their wives and kids. Stands to reason that the kids won't be along for THAT trip.
What it comes down to from where I sit is that many of today's parents never really got past the point of accepting that life isn't all about you anymore once you have kids. And it's not just the fathers, it's both parents. Kids are an accessory, something that you have because "that's what you do..." When it comes to the responsibility of raising them and being involved in their lives, there are a whole lot of parents who just plain fail. Considering the environments most were raised in, it's not a surprise. A kid needs parents who are there every day, and if you go into parenthood having never known that, what are you going to do? How are you going to take your kids fishing when both parents work 50 - 60 hours a week just to put a roof over their heads, and spend all weekend (if they are even home) cleaning up the mess they left behind working 12 hour days?
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Posts: 20178
Location: oswego, il | Don't forget to give them a designer first name. In 40 years there won't be anyone named Gary, bob, Harold or Ben, Benjamin but not Ben.
Edited by ToddM 7/21/2015 4:15 PM
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Posts: 1169
Location: New Hope MN | “Add to this the fact that the younger generation is lazy.”
Can we please not insult an entire generation? That's not a productive way to attract people to the sport. And remember you raised that generation, so what does that say about you? Remember that poll we just did? Most were in that "lazy" generation.
Time’s change, and what’s cool changes. Youth sports are on the decline too. I blame I-phones and social media. It will be sad if fishing participation drops, but I’ll do my best to pass on the tradition to my family. That’s all we can do. Prioritize our families and hope we do a great job of teaching them quality lessons. And you know, it’s ok if my son doesn’t like fishing. As long as he’s happy and prioritizes his family, I’ll be happy for him. |
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Posts: 815
Location: Waukee, IA | To the point of "the younger generation is lazy" Each consecutive generation is more intelligent, more productive and busier than the last. It's how it always will be, don't blame one generations failings on the next one. |
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Posts: 311
Location: Lake St.Clair | I am 24 and consider myself very very active. Try to fish 4 times a week. My tv doesn't get turned on much and the Xbox is wrapped up somewhere, I would rather be fishing I work hard & fish hard. It is a lot harder for my Generation to understand there is so much more then getting hammered every other day and watching tv. I bust my ass at work and try to get ahead and it sure seems like good jobs aren't around anymore I hope that changes because I plan out hopefully jumping into a career shortly starting a family and you better believe the first thing I do is have my kids bobber fishing Gills then forward from there. |
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Posts: 8716
| Tooth Tamer:
I have a question for you. How/when did you start fishing? Was it something you discovered on your own? What about musky fishing? |
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Posts: 452
| Some of the problems that I see in limiting our youths interest is access. Everything is posted as No trespassing or No fishing or NO NO NO. We are more scared of lawsuits as a society then our kids turning into pansies. Its time to wake up America. The Pussification of our Youth is happening right under our noses. If things are remotely dangerous, well we better not allow them. If things are offensive to a few, well we better not do that anymore, If someone feels left out, well we better bend over backwards to accomidate them. I fear for our future, not only from a fishing stand point but from a historical stand point. My kids love fishing and the outdoors, and they know how to use tools and fix things, but ask any of there friends how to do these things and they wouldn't have the slightest clue. |
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Posts: 89
| tkuntz - 7/21/2015 4:15 PM
To the point of "the younger generation is lazy" Each consecutive generation is more intelligent, more productive and busier than the last. It's how it always will be, don't blame one generations failings on the next one.
Maybe but I almost feel its going backwards. .. Ever see the movie Idiocracy? I think we are in the mist of a vast dumb down. My wife is 10 years younger then I am, she is in her final year of nursing school. When asked a question about Joe Biden in a 34 student class room, my wife and 1 other student knew who he was. However you feel about the man isn't the point. These people are about to have bachelor's degrees and they can't tell you who the vice president of the United States is. A few of them thought Hilary was the vice president. They do know what pop star is pregnant, so maybe that is more useful information. You wanna scare yourself go to yahoo and look at the top 5 trending news stories (the ones getting all the clicks), More then one news source has stated that is the number one online news source for Millennials.
Back on topic, we plan to start our family after she is done with school. It will mean I fish less and for 10 years I will be back to chasing bass and bulkhead. Hopefully I can sneak away once a month and a week a year to go chase the big green monsters. I for one cant wait to see a first cast, a first fish, a first camping trip.
We can show our kids and pass on our tradition, and if a few of them wanna go golf instead, at least there will only be 4 boats in line to fish the good rock pile instead of 7 :p
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Posts: 311
Location: Lake St.Clair | esox
It was something i discovered on my own. My grandparents live on a small pond and had 2 old junky rods and i was the only one of the grandchildren that would pick it up and i guess it stuck with me. Father wasnt around a whole lot so it was mostly me figuring it out. Growing up i had one older friend that always loved to fish he also helped me really step into it around 15-17 years old.
Musky fishing came to me the first day fishing with a buddy who uncles trolls alot of tourneys. trolling really didnt strike me to boring. so we set out with junky spinning setups with 30lb braid not a clue and ended up getting a few follows and ever since i seen that first follow and felt my heart sputter i knew i would never fish hard for anything else. |
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Location: Eastern Ontario | I grew up at a time when usually only the father was the breadwinner and the mother was the housekeeper. As kids we spent our summers at the cottage with my mother and dad came up on weekends. We had lots of opportunity to fish and swim hike and what ever. I grew up in what is now the center of Toronto but when I was a kid I walked through cow pasture with creeks with trout and ponds with sun fish to get to school we spent our lives outside. To day that is all concrete the creeks are underground storm sewers. To day either both parents work to make ends meet or there is only one very busy parent. There are limited opportunities for urban or suburban kids to fish swim and play outside the way we did. My granddaughters love to fish but the only chance they get is the 2 weeks they come up here to the cottage each summer so the musky stuff is out of the boat and I take them bass fishing each evening. I see the local kids down on the park dock fishing in the evenings, some playing ball at the diamond, lots of kids on the soccer field, the arena maintains ice 10 months of the year. I don't think kids are lazy but they can only make use of whats available to them or what their parents can afford.Even if the kids spend time on their electronic devices its only replacing the garbage on cable TV. Besides are you guys not on your electronic devise right now.
Edited by horsehunter 7/21/2015 8:56 PM
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Posts: 20178
Location: oswego, il | Garbage on tv? The other day I was flipping channels and landed on a show called big brother. I decided to play a.drinking game every time I heard the word bro, I did a shot. In two minutes I did 15 shots. I call that efficient tv! |
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