Took One Of The Neighbourhood Kids Fishing Today...
 

I invited the 10 year old kid we hired to cut our lawn this summer when we are out of town working to fish with us as a thank you for doing such a good job after running the idea by Deb. She just loves kids and was very agreeable to the idea so I asked this young fellow if he'd like to go fishing with us? He was so excited and couldn't wait. I told him we'd need his parents permission. His mother is deaf and mute and his father lives about 90 minutes drive from here and he only gets to visit his father every second weekend. I don't think Dad is much into fishing but from what I understand he deer hunts at least but doesn't take the kids.
His mother texted to say yes he could go and that he was so excited and she was so happy he was getting to go fishing. Deb and I picked a day based on the weather forecast and today was the day. We packed a cooler full of water on ice, some healthy snacks and of course peanut butter and grape jelly sandwiches the night before and I hooked the boat up to the truck and made sure all was in order for our 6am departure.
Our invited angler arrived at my door at 05:40, twenty minutes ahead of time and out of breath. He lives about 1/4 mile down the road and after his mother woke him and fed him breakfast he ran to our house instead of waiting for us to pick him up. :laughing:
Well at 06:00 we hit the road after buckling up and making sure all was in order for the two hour drive to the Cold Lake Marina to try for Lake Trout.
Along the way through conversation we discovered he had never been fishing so had never caught a fish. I knew he'd be in for a surprise if the fish were on the bite. After a few minutes he sat back and quietly played a baseball game on his phone. We finally arrived at the marina. I went in to pay my launch fee. The young lady said "no charge before 8 am but I insisted on paying as the facility is first rate and I appreciate having such a nice place to launch, park and recover for only $10 per day.
As I returned to ready the boat there was the little guy pitching right in unasked, helping to remove the cover, load the boat etc. Without a doubt he is the most polite kid I have ever met and such a responsible little fellow its crazy. You should have seen him pitch in and do stuff like he has been doing it all his life.
Not the typical 10 year old that has joined us on hunts and fishing trips in the past. Not once the entire day did he once complain he was bored or wanted to go home etc.. We'd get a hit and he'd jump a foot high running to the line, lol. We handed him the rod on every fish except during 4 double headers we experienced of which we landed both fish twice. My wife took one line while he reeled in the other and I took one when he was reeling a fish in and the fish hit when I was clearing my side for him to fight his fish. We'd back the speed off or at times completely shut the boat down to make it easier for him when we'd get a fish on. By the third fish he was a PRO! No lie. He'd hold the rod high, reel down, pump, reel down as I got the net ready and stood on the rear casting deck at the ready to land fish. He'd count out the feet left on the linecounter reel and when it got to 12' he'd say "ok I'm backing up" and raise the rod high backing up, slowly bringing the fish in to the waiting landing net. I'd scoop the fish, hoist the net to one side, he'd give me some slack line to set the rod in the rod holder as the net handle lay on the gunwale, basket in the water, reach and unhook the fish while he'd put on a pair of tailing gloves then he'd say 'ready", reach over the side, grab the fish in front of the tail just like I showed him, slip his other hand under the belly, lift the fish and turn to DEb for a picture then immediately turn back and set the fish in gently head first and let it go! It was his first time fishing and he was better at it than most adults I know!
We ended the day after about 5 1/2 hours fishing with 23 Lakers brought to net of which he brought in 21! He was so pumped watching the rods pop on a bite and getting to reel in fish after fish. I think one of the highlights of the day was when we let him run the boat trolling. I taught him and he caught on fast how to read the contours on the CMAPS map of the lake and navigate to waypoints we made where we've had action present and past and he zig-zagged along the contours as instructed making the lures speed up and slow down to entice strikes. The smile on his face was priceless seated at the wheel of the V18WT Targa.
Finally the hour drew near to call it a day if we were to make it home in time to get to the club to shoot some skeet for the evening which he wanted to come watch after asking his mother if it was ok and getting her approval.
He wanted to know when we were going fishing again? We explained by the time we get back from our next work rotation it would be goose and duck hunting season. His eyes were like an owls as he said 'WOW, can I come along?"
I said 'if your mother is ok with it yes you can join us on a couple hunts". By the time we drove the two hours home he had texted her and gotten her approval to go hunting, LOL, but he had changed his mind about the skeet shooting and ever so politely asked if we'd mind if he just went home as he wanted to go show off to his friends all his pictures of the fish he caught. We just chuckled. He was so pumped!
Here are a few pics...

A few more...

Fantastic job sir. This is what fishing is all about, shared the passion , wisdom and the unforgettable experience, and memories. This young man will have one heck of fishing story to share with his buddies. Hat off to you. Sir


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Great day!!!!!! Love to read stories like this!!:)

Great story !! Could you for doing,this the boy will have memories for ever..

Excellent read about an excellent day! That young fellow will never forget his day spent fishing with you and your wife.

As stated before, hats off to you and your wife on sharing your day with the young lad.

That is what it is all about.
Well done to the both of you.

Good show! Memories for a lifetime

Thanks for your generosity and kindness for starting the next generation of fishermen
The world needs more.

Fantastic, heart warming story. Hearing about polite kids and folks willing to share experiences like this brightens my day. :)

[QUOTE=Frank_NK28;4654631] His mother is deaf and mute
As I returned to ready the boat there was the little guy pitching right in unasked, helping to remove the cover, load the boat etc. Without a doubt he is the most polite kid I have ever met and such a responsible little fellow its crazy. You should have seen him pitch in and do stuff like he has been doing it all his life.

I read this post and it warms my heart. I quoted this sentence from the original and it really hit me. Why? This awesome boy has a deaf mother - he has been doing this all his life!!
Helping his mother with something as simple (to most) as making phone calls for appointments, translating from sign language to speech at restaurants and other day to day tasks. This boy has grown up fast with extra responsibilities that many kids never have.
From experience, I know what it is like having deaf parents. Many people do not realize how much kids do for their deaf parents starting at a very young age.
You and your wife have no idea the huge impact you have made on this boy and how thankful his mother truly is. Well done!!

Love this. Good to be reminded that there are still good people out there and good kids too.

I had a family out last weekend who did not have a boat. It was a blueberry walleye fishing weekend.

One of the people was a 70 year old lady whose husband died 20 years ago, and she had not fished since then.

Hopefully my Soul will be judged a little bit easier at the pearly gates. If not, at least these people had an experience to remember. 17 fish in 2 hours landed, so good results for a group who did not really know how to fight a fish.

Drewski

You did a really great thing for that kiddo. No surprise the fish gods were good to you. The world needs more people like you and your wife.

Best story I have read in a long time... Thanks so much for being a rock solid fellow and taking the time to give a young kid positive experiences and memories that will last a lifetime as well as molding him into an outdoorsman of the future! :shake2:

[QUOTE=257Shooter;4654757]He is definitely the man of the house. It's both heartwarming and a bit sad at the same time that he is saddled with as much responsibility as he is but obviously it is what makes him the very unique young fellow he is. I am sure he really has his hands full at times with a sister three years younger and his mother grew up on a Hutterite Colony near Ponoka and left there to have more independence in her life so she must be quite a remarkable young woman in her own right.

Thanks for the kind words.

The smiles on all of you in pic's are great, so kind of you to take them out. Good job there.

Tommy

Post of the year. Outstanding. Thank you for sharing, I love seeing kids get hooked on fishing! Great job by you and your wife, thanks for helping spread the joy of our sport to the next generation.

This is fantastic! Thanks for sharing! :47b20s0:

Best gift for a youngster I've read about in a long time. Well done!!

Good job you and your wife. I had tears of joy and all smiles reading that wonderful adventure you gave that little man. I was about 11 yrs old living in Sioux Lookout with my grandparents and about the same happened for me. Got hooked big time. I hope you realize you might have created a monster :sHa_shakeshout: LOL. Future fishing guide. Thanks for sharing. :happy0034:
Let us know how the :character0110: hunting goes.

Thanks for all the kind words everyone!

Last evening I'm busy getting stuff ready to head to BC for work and the doorbell rings. I open the door and I'm greeted to this great big smile and enthusiastic "Hi". I said hello back and asked how he was doing and what he was up to? He said he was bicycling past the house and noticed the boat was gone and wondered where it was? I said "I brought it in to get the power trim looked at and get the boat winterized as I would not have time to do it myself before hunting season". He said "oh" sounding kind of disappointed but then perked up and started talking about how fun fishing had been and thanked us once again then started asking about hunting and how we hunt.
I said give me a minute. I walked into the kitchen and grabbed a plastic grocery bag and said "follow me to the big shed". I took him out back to the shed, unlocked it and opened the door. As he was stepping through the door he said "I wondered what was in here when I was cutting the lawn" and then when he was in the shed he stopped and said "wow" looking at all the decoys, blinds etc.
I asked if he ever ate goose or deer and he just shook his head no slowly as he looked all around in the shed. I went to the freezer in the corner, opened it and proceeded to fill the grocery bag. I sent him home with a package of italian sausage, octoberfest, cheddar jalapeno, summer sausage, bologna and mesquite jerky made from goose, a package of venison burger, a package of venison stew meat and two packages of smoked brook trout.
He was so excited to try it all. He thanked me and headed home on his bike. A few minutes later his mother texted and said "oh my god I absolutely love goose and anything wild, thank you so much!"
Ten minutes later I receive another text from my new little buddy telling me he heated a goose jalapeno sausage and ate it and it was "amazing" and he could not wait to try the jerky!
A few minutes later he is at my door again grinning ear to ear and asking when we are going goose hunting. LOL

Your story reminded me myself when I was about that age, may be even younger… I was spending summer with my grandma, at the cottage, and there was this old man who I stuck to like a glue…. He was full of stories, liked to fish and had an amazing garden… I was spending all day with him, his children were all grown up but he didn’t have any grandchildren so he was kinda attached to me too… It was an amazing friendship…. I still remember him and his wife…

Love it! This reminds me of a nostalgic story from the 1960s.

I guarantee you that he’ll never forget that day. Good on you!

Sioux Lookout… what a place to get hooked on fishing! Much tougher in Southern Alberta, lol!

Being laid up the past week and a half after a hernia surgery has given me some time to get caught up on editing the hours and hours of fishing and hunting footage on my cameras from the 2023 season so I put together this video of the day we took the neighbour's son fishing.
It's as if he read my mind, he showed up at our door today. We haven't seen him since the weather turned colder and he didn't want to hunt any more this fall, lol. He was sure excited when he saw the video I had put together. With his parents permission I posted it to youtube. His mother texted me to say it's her favorite video. :)

https://youtu.be/Pxiu23Nn2qo?si=JkzIPXV7W8tkTTA3

That’s great, Frank.

Without a doubt you have changed this young mans life, whether you realize it or not. The world needs more people like you and your wife Frank.

Well done

Hilgy

Always good to get someone new into the hobby, especially the young ones. :happy0034:

I don't know how I missed this the first time.

Awesome job Frank_NK28, I love reading stories like this, it's my favourite part of fishing. It's so important to get the next generation out and embracing the outdoors, a single trip like that can start a lifelong passion for fishing.

Good on you.