Fishing Traditions
Fishing Traditions
When I was a kid, I was absolutely obsessed with fishing. My dad used to record episodes of “InFisherman” and “Babe Winkleman”, among others, on VHS tapes and I would watch them over and over again. The household laundry basket would be my pretend boat and I would fish around the house tackling giant fish of various species. At a very young age, fish and fishing were my passion and I owe it to the fishermen in my family, my dad and grandpas for the cherished memories and experiences on the water that started it all. A lot of my favorite core memories from growing up have fishing of some sort in them.
Now as a father myself, one of the things I cherish most about fishing is watching our kids catch fish, laugh and immerse themselves into the sport. While they may not have the obsession I had, they still very much enjoy it and also look forward to the potential fish fry after a successful day on the water. Building memories like these are so important and it’s a lot of fun to look back on some of the memorable adventures from the past.
I’ve been very fortunate in my life to have some incredible fishing experiences all over North America. My grandfather, on multiple occasions, took me to Canada when I was a teenager and those were unforgettable trips. Two of those trips were so remote that we needed to fly in via float plane. I had caught a lot of pike and some walleyes before but I had no idea how incredible the fishing can be in some of those places. He and I shared a lot of fishing adventures together over the years. One of his favorite species to target was bass and when we visited their place in Minnesota in the summer, he would usually try to sneak me out for some evening topwater bass action.
My dad was the one who introduced me to fishing and I caught my first fish, a little largemouth bass with him when I was 2 years old. We fished a lot when visiting my other grandparents cabin in northern Minnesota but outside of that he didn’t fish a ton back home in Iowa. Once in a while we would go hit a local lake or the river in town but not very often. For a few years before he moved to Florida, we would do an annual Father’s Day camping trip to northeast Iowa and fish for trout in the many streams of that region.
Now as an adult, one thing that dad and I have started doing is taking an annual trip somewhere to fish, usually with a guide. The glacial lakes of South Dakota have become one of our favorite places to visit and the fishing is generally awesome for a multitude of species, namely walleyes, jumbo perch and pike. One day when the kids are a bit older that will be something I share with them as well.
With dad living in south Florida, it’s a ton of fun to go down there and fish the saltwater. He has a private lake behind his condo that contains bass, tarpon, snook and a variety of invasive cichlid species. It ia also loaded with alligators so it feels a bit sketchy to fish in it. We’ve had some really good fishing trips down there though. Morning trips to the beach to catch snook in the surf, guided offshore and inshore adventures, even an overnight trip in his friends yacht nearly 70 miles out in the gulf to chase grouper and snapper. Nothing will keep you awake like looking out the window at 2 A.M. in 4-5 foot swells and seeing lighting on the horizon.
My wife’s father also lives in south Florida across the state near Miami and is an avid angler, so any trips we take down there usually have fishing in the mix whether its peacock bass in the freshwater canals, chasing barracuda on the flats in the Keys or offshore for snapper and other species. This year we are taking the family down there for a week and a half. During this vacation, my wife’s father booked a charter targeting swordfish and other deep water species such as tilefish and queen snapper. My dad is also going to join for that adventure and we are all looking forward to it. The kids are still a little too young for a long range trip out on the potentially wavy Atlantic like that.
It has been fun watching my son, who is 6, build upon his skills as an angler. Thus far in his life, I’ve been present for every fish that he has caught and that’s pretty special to me. He has quite a range of species knocked out so far including walleye and multiple freshwater drum nearly the size of himself! As long as there’s something biting, he’s not too picky, which I think is the case for most kids. My stepson, who is 11, also likes to fish and he and I like to take the boat and go chase white bass and hybrid striped bass on Saylorville reservoir in the summer. If you can find the schools it is nonstop action and loads of fun for any age.
I could go on with stories about fishing adventures all day. The important thing for me was getting to spend many of them with my grandpas, continued trips with my dad and now sharing the adventure with our kids. Fishing is just one of those life skills and experiences that brings so much joy not to mention it can also be relaxing. Making memories with your loved ones only sweetens the deal.
By: Nick Johnson
