If you give a kid a fish

T.J. Cowell, Alestle Sports Reporter

by T.J. Cowell, Alestle Sports Reporter

While killing some time the other day, I decided to pick up this month’s edition of “Heartland Outdoors” magazine and check it out. Although it has been ignored in the backseat of my car the past few weeks, I hung onto the publication after picking it up and glancing through it at an outdoor’s show I attended. I figured I’d hang onto it in case it had some articles that would spark interest into my outdoors blog. Well it paid off. I didn’t have to look very far to find something that I thought was attention-grabbing.

A new study, according to HunterSurvey.com, showed that more than 77 percent of active hunters and range shooters have taken their kids hunting. This study must have taken some time to do because this article listed off fact after fact relating to parents taking their sons and daughters out hunting. Notice I said sons and daughters; about 10 percent taught girls about the sport. More than 34 percent of adult outdoorsmen said they have taken both boys and girls out to hunt. Studies showed the most popular species of game sought after were deer. Smaller game (like squirrels and rabbits, I presume) were also popular.

These facts reminded me of the countless times my dad has taken me fishing over the years. My older brother was more of the hunting type in my family, so if I ever went, it was with him (Granted, I didn’t shoot anything because I did not have a FOID card.) Walking in the woods and finding mushrooms in the spring is about the only kind of hunting I do with my dad.

However, fishing started when I was just over a year old, and now the hobby has turned into somewhat of an obsession for my family and me. I’m sure most of us have seen the commercials and other sources of advertisements that encourage us to mentor the younger generation in experiencing the outdoor life. Let me be the first to tell you that by taking a kid fishing (or hunting in this matter), will sprout memories that will last a lifetime for both of you. The quality time spent together is something positive that will come out of it as well.

Now that I go to college three hours away from where I grew up, in a county that has two stoplights, I don’t get to see my family as much as I would like to. Whenever I am home I try to spend some time with them. Nowadays, when I fish or hunt with my dad, I cherish every bit of time we spend together because someday we won’t be able to go anymore. For now, I will enjoy the times we get to hang out. The relativity of this article to my own personal life was what really caught my eye. Enjoy spending time with those who you care about and like spending your days with, because someday you might not be able to. But the memories that you make with them will last a lifetime.

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“Soon after I embraced the sport of angling I became convinced that I should never be able to enjoy it if I had to rely on the cooperation of the fish.”  Sparse Grey Hackle