Oct

23

Fishing for a Bond

October 23, 2007 |



Tip! Local Specialty Fly – Okay, this will take a bit of effort on your part. Every fishing area has a specialty fly that is known to have fish leaping out of the water before casting even begins.

Fishing is a versatile activity; you can do it alone or with family and friends. You can compete with others or with Mother Nature. You can do it for sport or as a therapy to get away and relax from boredom and routine. That is why most of us make of fishing our primary recreational activity and that is why it is becoming so popular in America as well as in other countries.

According to some surveys, more than 60 million Americans preferred fishing above some other sports like soccer or foot-ball. Like any other sport, fishing also has rules and among the most important ones are letting go the fish you won’t eat and getting a fishing license before going to fish.

To get a fishing license you have to check for the requirements and regulations your state and/or country have. In some cases you need a “conservation license” before getting your actual fishing license. The age is not important to get a license, but usually kids up to 11 years old can get the license for free.

I think one of the most important things for making fishing a memorable experience is learning -if you have never fished before- and planning.

If you are new to fishing you can start by doing some research on the Internet. There are some good sites where you can find useful tips for beginners. Another thing you might want to do, is going to a fishing store and ask. Usually they have directories, guides or instructors, you might even find there someone who is willing to teach you.

Tip! For trout fishing, the leader should not be greased. It will not sink far enough to cause any difficulty when picking the line and lure from the water, but if it is allowed to float; it will cast a shadow on the bottom of the stream which may scare the trout.

Be mindful of your budget, you don’t need state of the art gear to learn, you can get inexpensive “second-hand” gear until you are experienced enough to choose the best tools for you.

Once you get a grip on the basics, you can keep practicing almost everywhere, the backyard can be a good place for practice if it is big enough, but be careful if you decide to do it at your work cubicle, you might fish something nasty inside the coffee cup of a co-worker or poke out someone’s eyes…specially your boss’.

Tip! Dress for the occasion. If you’re ice fishing, don’t forget thermal underwear and insulated footgear.

The next step on making fishing a memorable thing is the planning stage. Planning is as important as having the knowledge on fishing. In my experience the first thing to consider is LOCATION.

You do not want to go to a “fish desert”. Location also involves the type of fishing techniques involved and the gear you’ll be needing like boats, tools or special fishing-wear, the kind of bait you will be taking and the most important, where you, your family and friends will have a great time. For example, Alabama promotes their lakes and open banks for fishing; in some of them you don’t even need a boat to fish.

But, why is it so important taking your family with you?

Firstly, according to “Family Life First” - an organization dedicated to promote the need of spending quality and useful time with families - in the last 20 years, children have been spending less time doing outdoor activities and parents reducing the time they spend with their families all together.

Evolutionary Psychologist also points out the importance of family or group bonds and member collaboration, as well as teaching-learning skills handed from the parents. Getting every member of the family involved on the trip planning creates a stronger bond between all “the group”, it also makes everyone happy. I still have some memories from my fishing trips with my family and family’s friends.

Tip! It is not good practice when fishing for trout to fish directly upstream so the flies, line, and leader will float directly over fish. The fisherman should make the cast from one side of the stream so the fly will only float over the fish.

Besides going out fishing in a group to help to tighten “family ties”, it also has some therapeutical values like stress relief and to becoming more structured in your life if it’s done properly. This without mentioning the enjoying values and benefits of interacting with nature.

Another ability you can get from fishing is cooking. There is nothing like preparing and grilling or baking a fresh caught fish, using, creating, modifying recipes and “taking out” the inner Chef in you.

Long Lost Fly Fishing Secrets. Discover original tips and techniques from early fly fishing masters and classics.

Fishing is good for you, and is fun in group. The more you do it, the more you’ll like it and learn from it. You will also discover that fishing is not only taking a rod and a bait, you can also “Bear fish” or even use a bow!!!

Happy fishing.

“Tony the Tuna” is a fishing enthusiast and a regular contributor writer for Fly-Fishing-North-America.com. If you want to learn more about fly fishing visit http://www.fly-fishing-north-america.com

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1 Comment so far

  1. Joe Vincent on October 23, 2007 9:26 am

    This article brings up a couple excellent topics.

    Kids & fishing:
    Kids that are introduced to fishing at an early age, and come to love it, are much less likely to fall in with the wrong kind of friends and are less likely to get into trouble.

    The bond you can build with your child on a fishing trip, will go a long way towards instilling them with your values.

    I belong to a lot of fishing forums on the internet, and my favorite picture-posts are ones of kids showing the fish they caught with ear-to-ear grins on their faces. Absolutely priceless!

    Spouse & fishing:
    Another bit of bonding that I enjoy is with my wife. When I hear a guy that likes to fish say he’s engaged, the first question I ask is: “Does she like to fish?”.

    It may seem trivial, but my wife and I love to spend a quiet afternoon on the water catching, or just trying to catch fish. I don’t even mind that when she’s with me, all the big fish gravitate to her lure instead of mine (the only fish on our wall… yep - she caught it!). For relaxing time alone with your spouse, you simply can’t beat fishing.

    “Fishing for a Bond” is a nice article that made me think of how valuable fishing is to me in strengthening the most important bonds in my life. Thank you for bringing this up to the readers on this site.

    Joe

Fishing





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