My son is 11-years old and while I taught him to fish many moons ago, I’ve recently taught him more advanced ways of fishing. The first lesson I taught him was learning to use a spinning reel. Not a difficult lesson but a rewarding one. But a month ago or so, my son wanted to try out my fly rod as I was catching more blue gill with it compared to his spinning reel. Now teaching someone how to use a fly rod and reel takes a little more patience and a little more time. In fact, I would say, mastering a fly rod and reel takes a lifetime of patience and learning. But in minutes, he got the basic timing of the cast down and was able to cast a dry fly out onto the water for the panfish to grab. It was no “River Runs Through It” moment on the great trout streams of America, but it was a memorable time. And a it’s hobby I look forward to sharing with him for the rest of my life, the same way my dad has shared it with me.

My daughter just turned two but I can’t wait until the day I teach her to fish and she catches her first fish. Right now, when I catch a fish, she screams and doesn’t want to get near it. We’ll need to work on that but we’ve got time.