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Posts: 2865
Location: Brookfield, WI | Today is my little girl Grace's birthday and she's ten years old. It's hard to believe that it has been ten years since a very difficult pregnancy for my wife. That pregnancy culminated in an even more difficult unsuccessful try to deliver her naturally, and ended with a healthy baby delivered by Caesarean Section.
She's smart, beautiful, funny, loves books and sports, and exhibits a heart and kindness that give me hope for the future of this world we call home. Most of those characteristics she gets from the wonderful woman that is my wife, but I like to think I too had something to do with her development.
I couldn't help but notice that over the course of the last month as fishing seasons opened across the range of M1st, there has been no shortage of those that frequent this board mentioning their children prominently when giving their reports of how their openers went.
Mike Roberts mentioned in jest, "what is wrong with US" regarding the addiction to fishing muskies with which many here seem to be afflicted. When I see the number of posts that describe how a portion of their opening weekends were devoted to bobbers, worms, crappies, and gills, I know I'm not the only one here who looks at their child or children like I do. I would do anything for her, and its obvious that many here feel the same way. So I'll answer Mike's question. As parents there appears to be nothing wrong with a lot you.
I love you Gracie, and couldn't be more proud. Before you know it, you'll be 21 and allowed to date.
Kevin
The most important part of my Plan.
Edited by MuskyHopeful 5/29/2007 11:01 AM
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Posts: 216
Location: Elk River, MN | My fiance and I have our kids (3 girls and 1 boy - 6, 8, 8, 10) every other weekend so we fished muskie opener this weekend; had the kids out bass / sunfishing the prior weekend before and will take them out again for bass and crappies this weekend. I have a 20ft ranger but it can be interesting but managable with their lines in the water at the same time. When we have the kids its their time to fish; not ours - but their smiles and excitement of catching something sure is worth it. |
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| Part of my opener consisted of a 6 pack, my beautiful wife of 18 years, my 16 year old sunbathing on the front deck, me and my 12 year old catching bluegills off the back deck, then hugs and Thank you's all around.
The conversation got a little X-rated when my 12 year old was unhooking a big male blue gill and it "sprayed" all over her! I feel fortunate to be able to talk so frankly with my kids!
Life is good  |
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Posts: 13688
Location: minocqua, wi. | ... just the thought of a couple weeks ago going through 20 bobbers and rigs lost to the stumps and trees with four in my boat and looking over at andy grimm with 3 in his going through the same number of break-offs was a hoot. racing them to the cabin ahead of the storm and then rushing so we could get the boats off the water before the storm added to the chaos ... but when the fish were cleaned, the kids were showered and the eats were on the table ... watching this group of 7 little kids scarf down fresh crappies and knowing the experiences they'll never forget makes all the craziness worthwhile. the chiropractor can help the acheing back from filleting and the kids don't know any better ... just that it's fun to fish.
in the winter kids pay off huge because the same crew of 7 plus andy and i with his buddy mike and a couple more boys makes for a tipup field to die for ... i remember wondering if a fetus is considered life immediately, shouldn't you get the 3 tipups? ... our field is full with 36 flags on the ice ... it's a circus when the bite is on ... and i've never seen a group of kids so tired from chasing them down!
i'm glad my kids don't like fish sticks!!!
don't forget that kids learn fast and there is no reason to leave them at home ... |
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Posts: 55
Location: SW Michigan | Great to see so many proud parents on here. My 8 year old & I spent Memorial Day afternoon bluegill fishing. Caught a bunch of fish and more importantly had a bunch of fun. I bought him a new 5 foot rod with one of those under-spin reels. Man he loved that thing. We ended up catching a pail full of 'gills & perch, a bunch of bass we released. Even got a 4# sucker of all things ( I'll tell ya I was thinking about keeping that for bait!), but threw it back, too. It started getting late & I wanted to head home because I had alot of fish to clean. I said, "You about ready to go?". His reply, "Let's catch just one more! Just a couple more casts!?" Thats my boy!!!!!!!!! |
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Posts: 1264
Location: Stevens Point, Wi. | My "baby" turned 29 a few weeks ago. All those years of bobber watching, snag breakoffs, sunfish catching, question answering, have been paid off 10 fold. Watching him catch his personal beat on Sunday(see N. Wi. epener post} was priceless! |
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Posts: 256
Location: Janesville | I did not get to fish muskys as I wanted too. I fished crappies with the wife and kids and that was a great time and the crappies were bitting . I will always remember the great time fishing with the wife and kids. What better way to spend a weekend with family and friends. |
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Posts: 20212
Location: oswego, il | My sons are 13, 11 and 9. I love them to death and my favorite time of year is when I get to take them fishing. I am divorced and my kids now live in a remote part of eastern colorado which I fought to the supreme court and lost. It is what it is and I make the best of it without bitterness. It serves no purpose. I have never missed a day of visitation, and never will. I get them in less than two weeks, in three we will be on vermillion catching fish, can't wait.  |
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Posts: 129
| Down here in illinois I caught a 36 on friday,but the best part of the weekend was when my 4 yr old daughter asked me to take her fishing. She caught 17 very nice gills. The big smile and the excitement every time she caught a fish was the greatest. |
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Posts: 412
Location: Waukesha, WI | here's a twist. My wife and I do not have kids. It wasn't in the stars. However, my dad is a couple years retired, and now I am taking him out fishing after 20 to 25 years of his rested fishing gear in favor of black powder and air rifles. The big smiles we had being out on the water together again was priceless.
Great post Kevin. |
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Posts: 1764
Location: Ogden, Ut | Happy Birthday Grace. Make sure your dad brings the sandwiches for the party...
S. |
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Posts: 317
| MH, sounds like you have one peach of a daughter! Mine is almost 5, and ever since she could talk, she would point out the fish on my Musky Hunter magazines and say "Munksy!" She loves to fish, and in a few weeks, we are headed up to Vilas for our first annual "Daddy Daughter" Camping/fishing weekend. She is soo exited. She is a trooper too, she spend 5-6 hours in the boat with me last fall and full days in the shanty last winter. |
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| My son turned a year old on the 23rd and has made a couple of short trips with my wife and I in the boat. I can't wait for all the fishing memories that we will make together in the future. Every time we walk outside he points to the boat and says OOOAT! It's wonderful to read about all the great memories everyone is making with their families. |
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Posts: 20212
Location: oswego, il | Muskystalkers daughter is a little sweetheart, he brings her to the FRV club meetings, although as I say that, she likes to flip me off all the time! |
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Posts: 317
| but you deserve it! (she likes to point with her middle finger, and as Todd is funny looking, she points at him alot!)
Edited by MuskyStalker 5/30/2007 9:07 PM
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Posts: 87
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Kids are awesome. For the last 4 opening weekends, my 10 year old son and I have fished Little Green Lake with a group from church. One of the guys had not fished the lake before so my son Duncan fished in his boat because he knew the lake pretty good. On his third cast, he got a 37 at 5:30 a.m. in the rain. I wish I would have seen it but the smile on his face when he told us was priceless. I had his two friends in my boat and the 12 year old got a 34 at 8:00 a.m.. That was a great opening day with kids. Terry. |
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Posts: 178
| Wow, what a great post and some great stories! I noticed that most of you folks have young children. If you'd like to know how fishing with them while they're young pays off later in life, I'll tell you about my sons -- Jason and Bryan.
I took Jason on his first fishing trip when he was 2 1/2 years old. I rigged up a fly rod to function as a cane pole, with about 8 feet of line and a small black rubber jig 18 inches under a small bobber. We were after big green sunfish along the rocks of a dam on a small lake I used to manage in north central Missouri. A reporter from the local newspaper was there to document opening day fishing activities on the lake, and he thought it would be cute to photograph a two-year-old catching a fish. About the time the guy got set up, Jason's bobber went under, and he torqued that fly rod like he was setting the hook on a 30-pound musky. An 8-inch green sunfish came sailing 20 feet through the air and smacked the poor reporter in the side of the face! (Jason got his picture in the paper anyway.) We caught a bunch of sunfish that day, but mostly we chased frogs and otherwise doinked around the water's edge doing whatever a 2-year-old thought was fun. As Jason grew up, I never pressured him to fish, and we always did whatever he thought was fun outdoors... END RESULT? Jason is 26 years old now and a graduate of Cornell University. In three weeks, we are going to Fairbanks, Alaska together where he will soon begin working on his graduate research project for the University of Alaska School of Fisheries on salmon in the Yukon River watershed. But before work and grad school begin, he and I will be flyfishing for northern pike on the Minto Flats and Chinook salmon and grayling in the Gulkana River. He is an expert fly fisherman, photographer, and webmaster of www.troutnut.com. You might say I'm proud of him. It all started with a flying sunfish.
I took Bryan on his first fishing trip shortly after he turned 3 years old -- drowning worms under bobbers for gullible bluegills on their spawning beds in the neighbor's 10-acre farm pond. There were flying sunfish during that operation, too, and a big smile on a little boy's face. I remember even more vividly some of our first attempts to fillet fish. Bryan spent most of the time marveling at the various internal organs and asking questions like, "What's this, Dad?" "What's that?" "What does THIS do?" My lovely wife of 28 years, Sandy, tolerated the bloody post-mortem surgery on our dining room table. Those first attempts to clean fish were mostly exploratory, but by the age of 7, Bryan was filleting panfish with some proficiency. Bryan's 25th birthday is coming up soon. To this day he loves to fish, and his early exposure to nature led him to earn a degree in biology at Truman State University in northeastern Missouri. He is now attending graduate school in Virginia and soon will be teaching high school biology. Imagine that. You might say that I'm proud of that boy, too.
It sounds like everyone here has a pretty clear sense of priority when it comes to taking their kids fishing. I just wanted folks to know that it pays off in the end.
Dave Neuswanger
Fisheries Team Leader, Upper Chippewa Basin
Wisconsin DNR, Hayward |
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| My oldest daughter Sara just graduated from 8th grade tonight, and my younger daughter Emily is just wrapping up 6th grade. Do what you can to enjoy the great outdoors with your children because they sure grow fast!
Steve |
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Posts: 462
Location: Antioch, IL | Happy B-Day to your little one. Mine will be 2 in October. As much fun as I'm having with him now, I have to admit I'm anxiously awaiting the first time I can take him fishing. Fishing with my father and grandfather are some of my fondest memories and can attribute the few redeeming qualities I have to the time I spent fishing and bonding with some the truly special people in my life. |
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Posts: 32880
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | Mine were ten years old about two weeks ago. now Keith is 27 and Brian 'over 30'. Goes fast, sir, enjoy it. |
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