Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Outdoor Kids

My fishing and hunting partner is my five year old (wait a minute; this is his 6th birthday) Grandson. His big passions involve hunting, fishing, tools, soldiers; you get the drift.

When he was just starting to talk pretty good, my wife took him into the trailer house we have on our land to change a particularly lethal smelling diaper. When he came back out and saw me, he started yelling "Partner, Partner". No idea where that came from. He has never called me anything else and early attempts to change that to Grandpa or anything else would make him cry. He knows what partner means too. He talks about our pickup, tractors, stock tanks, land, rent houses, etc. He knows that the guns are mine but will be his someday. His parents have been in family court for a couple of years. There is Moms house, Dads house and our house or "home". We're the big permanent feature in his life and neither parent has a problem with that. He told someone the other day that we were buying more land but didn't know what we needed it for (sounds like Grandma is messing with his head). He didn't get to shoot his BB gun until he could name all of the parts. He still uses a push button reel but will graduate to a spin cast when his hands get large enough.

He has been practicing with his BB gun on a deer archery target for the big day coming up on the first full weekend in November. He has also been picking up forked sticks to practice his antler rattling. We will sit in a stand together and if a deer shows up, he gets the first shot with his BB gun and if they don't go down, I'll finish them off with my 30-06. This is his second year to hunt but last year we figured it might be imprudent to shoot anything since his Parents were in court and you never know what a liberal judge might do. This year; the heck with it.

BTW, Daisy makes a 30 inch BB gun called a Model 105B. The stock is 10 inches long. Just right for a small child and a guaranteed memory maker or bonding opportunity.

Dave, I still have my daisy(1960 model) and it is still my most meaningfull gun.

Dave, you are lucky man and truly blessed. You are the "glue" that is helping this boy cope during such times. The impression you have made and are making will stick with this lad for life and will make for fire-side stories for his kids and probably theirs as well. For those of us that are lucky enough to live in the country with ponds and forests and such can pass down our heritage and expose children to life long lessons and skills not found in cities.
My owns boys just turned 6 and 9, and I look forward to my chance at having their children as my "partner" as well.

Thanks for the story, Dave. It shows what is needed most these days, in my opinion, and that is TIME. You take the TIME to spend quality moments, whether they be minutes or hours, with your grandson. Kids crave attention and I can't think of a better way to give it to them than to teach them respect for the land, teach them to nuture and grow something, or take them hunting or fishing. This is one of the big reasons I like the outdoors. I don't care if you don't shoot a thing, just being outside to watch the sky turn from black to gray, then watch the colors slowly filter in, to see the frosty breath of a doe and her fawn, truly amazing. Its the reason I get out of bed at a stupid early hour every weekend. Then to be able to share that TIME with a child who questions everything and is amazed by almost anything has got to be the best. I really look forward to it, whether we are blessed with a boy or a girl. Thanks for all the help folks!

Shawn, it really doesn't matter whether it's a girl or boy. I have 3 daughters and 4 granddaughters, all of who enjoy the outdoors. And, I enjoy all of their company when we get out. I usually have to hook the fish for my Granddaughters and then they catch them. The difference is, that my Partner talks to his Mom about needing to go fishing, not just wanting to go and none of the others have appropriated all of my worldly possessions.

I really enjoy going to the Elementary School to have lunch with Grandkids. It's a big deal for them and I would heartily recommend it to anyone. Heck, they only get a half hour and I'm only out of the office for a little over an hour. It sure breaks up the day in a good way. Try it. Not many parents or Grandparents show up. I have seen one guy that shows up sometime for lunch with his twin niece and nephew.

I have 6 kids from 25 down to 30 months and 5 grandkids with 2 more on the way and they all love the outdoors. My daughters bait their own hooks remove any fish they catch except for the big catfish! They love shooting the BB gun and .22 my youngest son is just starting to take an interest in fishing and will start him next year. My wife helps out at the school as PTA secretary and also is a Band Booster for the High School Marching Band. It's amazing how few parents are really involved with their kids and activities it seems like they are just s good way to get the kids away from the house.

Bob

My folks were country people (dad was born on the farm) who had it made when they moved to the big city. I was raised in Houston (which wasn't that bad 30-40 years ago. I raised my kids in Houston and only after they were gone did I get "back" to the country. I wish I had been able to see them grow up where I am now. My grandkids are in Nebraska, and I see them way to little to be an influence in their lives. I am jealous of your kid stories. Keep telling them!! Jim

dave, thanks for sharing your partner story. i knew everyone would like it. and all the other stories are great. my little girl is now 2 months old (and i just can't get her to cast yet, but we are working on the motions...wrist, back, shoulder, forward....wipe drool, release, wipe drool, burp....close bell. ahhh, someday, we'll get there!!) anyway, my girl is now 2 months old, and ol' shawn/svoberts is working on having a child soon. us young/new parents/to be really appreciate our "elders", and those who have had children for a while... stories, words of encouragement and wisdom (well, i guess i spoke for shawn, but i'm sure he would agree with me) dave, your partner is so lucky to have a mentor like you; he will be a better kid for it, i am sure of that. what a great topic. mark

Outdoor Kids .. there is no place better for kids! My wife & I raised 4 boys. When the oldest (Nate) was 12 we bought 60 ac of land & built a house. I rented a back-hoe & nate dug the footings. I bought radial arm saw, table saw, planer, jointer, 6 ft bed sander, drill press & numerous smaller tools which Nate mastered most. He cut every floor joist & every hardwood floor board & panneling boards. His next youngest brother (Seth) 10 helped some & the others were helpers.
We (my wife drove nails & did all the plumbing) built a house in the woods & our boys grew up in the woods.
NOTE: None have ear-rings or long hair or do drugs or wore pants with the crotch to their knees & underware showing or any of that.
Now I have TWO granddaughters! (That's how we ended up with 4 boys trying to get a girl) My son took them squirrel hunting this past Sat on my place. I was working on the pond & watched as they walked around the far side & across the dam single file like stair steps (Rebacca 5, Amber 10 & their Dad, Nate, ... well they disapeared in the woods & I heard 2 shots & later several more. They came back with 5 bushytails. They helped clean them & Amber was squeemish but Rebecca was intrigued. Nate & I played "Quincy" & showed them all the organs in the squirrels.
They help keep you young.
Yes a very good topic !!

Ric, I'm going to go open a cold Budweiser and have a toast to you. You did it right. BTW, I wound up with 3 daughters trying for a son. I finally got a vassectomy when I figured out that I might wind up with enough girls to bait a trotline.

ric, my dad used to have me and my brothers clear brush in areas out in middle of no where. we asked why, no one could see it, what did it matter? he said "work is good for ya; my boys aren't going to sleep all day saturday and expect to take my car, my gas, my money out for a good time on saturday nights if you don't work that day". he said someday it would make sense. now it makes sense. ilovefishingmark

I've seen some posts that are so awesome that I'm compelled to tell my little story here..

I have two girls, eleven and ten years old. I've been asked by more folks that I can count, "Don't you ever wish you had boys?" or "Are you going to try for a boy so you can have someone to go fishing with?" Well, I'm here to tell ya. That's a bunch of baloney!

My daughters have the following accomplishments:

1. Kayla has caught a two-pound bluegill, Daddy's tried for years and hasn't come close.

2. Shelby has caught a twelve-pound channel cat using a cheese filled hot dog that SHE decided would catch a fish, baited, cast and landed herself. Then, being the brilliant tactician that she is, got five dollars out of me to convince her to hold it up for a picture.

3. Kayla has caught and actually EATEN a bullfrog's legs. This from a girl that won't eat a banana if it has a spot on it.

4. Shelby can differentiate between big bluestem and little bluestem.

5. Kayla has convinced her entire 4-H group that it would be a good idea to learn to fish and volunteered "Daddy" to teach the group.

6. Shelby has converted a friend of hers, "Hannah" into a spotlighter.

7. Kayla has had her picture in "In-Fisherman" with a big bluegill not once, but twice.

8. Shelby has taught her buddies how to thread waxworms and is disappointed if she doesn't get to handle the nightcrawlers when it's time to collect the bait.

9. Kayla and Shelby proved, beyond any shadow of a doubt one time, exactly what they're all about. I was fishing a pond out of a little pontoon boat one time and I was a "guide" for my girls. The feeder on the dock went off and a group of channel cats started thrashing at the pellets. As I slowly maneuvered the little boat into position I looked over at my baby girls and what did I see? Both of them leaning forward, almost falling off of the front of the boat poised for the first cast that would reach the frenzy. These girls were RIVETED to their target, in hopes of catching a catfish. This just reinforced what I always knew. It's not whether or not you have a boy or a girl. It's how you treat them. If you give them a respect and appreciation for all of the wonderful things around them, they will reward you a hundred times over, boy OR girl!

I just want to add one sentiment. Having consumed a nice shot (maybe a shot'n'a half) of Jack Daniels...that I'm so blessed to have found this forum. I'm no expert on forums or chat rooms or whatever ya want to call them...but there can't be a better group of people anywhere than what we have here. A group dedicated to the outdoors, to accurate information, to truth. I kind of feel like I know a lot of you. Maybe I'll even be lucky enough to meet of couple of you in person. To my amazement, George Glazener and Norm Kopecky have already contacted me personally to let me know a little bit about who they are. Can you beat that? I've only been a small participant for a mere three months but I feel like I'm part of a family. Keep it up guys (and gals). We're all learning, and we're all the better for it. Maybe in the end we'll all catch an extra fish or two, maybe we'll all know our fish a little more. Regardless, it's something we wouldn't have without this forum. Passion is a hard find these days. I know too many people who are lukewarm about everything in their lives. Not here!

Thanks,

Bruce

bruce, i agree. great forum, and a great topic for everyone to reflect on their families. I'm soooo glad that me and all of my siblings turned out ok. otherwise, it would have gone something like:

well, i'm glad everyone's families are great. mine, well, ol billie is in prison down in Florida for smokin doobies and snorting crack, but i was always to busy to take him fishing, he tried tball, but i never went to the games, so i don't know how that turned out. he quit. was always a quitter anyway. my little sallie, well she shacked up with molly making pornos somewhere. and johnnie, little pissant drunk, stole my crack pipe and started wearing it around his waist like a belt to hold up his pink toto during his ballet classes and flute lessons.

(i could go on, but got patients waiting), i'm sure others would and can add on to the above with funny smart aleck comments that we all love to do sometimes.) mark any others? and to any dads out there with kids actually like this, well, sorry. do right with your grandkids, there is always a second chance.

ric, i may have been confusing in the above posts. i have a 2 month old, she's great. i have a wonderful dad and family, all out of prison. the above post was supposed to be light, laughable, relaxing and reassuring that my family is out of prison with regret to those that may have prison inmates, etc as children. just wanted to clarify that!!!

as far as my 2 month old, my wife is doing most of the work so far, hard for me to really screw up as a dad at this point!!!! but i will be there, iiiii'''lllllll be there! mark

ilovefishingmark, I thought your post was hilarious!

Ah Mark your fun is just beginning just wait until you get the shot between the eyes! And remember never try to talk while changing diapers. My youngest son is just gettin potty trained right now and the oldest is 21 with a step son, his own son and another baby on the way and the oldest daughter is expecting her 4th daughter so my fun is still not over.

Bob

I have six kids ranging from 22 yrs. to 13 yrs. All boys but the youngest. 2 of them now know what cheap entertainment is.....fishing. We are in the process of building a pond-will have to wait to take the grandkids though.(no prospects yet!) All our kids hunt and fish and take their friends too. And guess what, they make good grades (college and high school) they don't do drugs and they don't get in trouble (not bad anyway!). Take your kids hunting and fishing!! AND TAKE YOUR WIFE, TOO!!!

my wife (who i actually took fishing on our second date!!) brought our little 2 mo old baby girl to my office today. i took her into see a couple of patients with me; she was just cooing and grinning (not from anything i did, but probably from gas!!) it's amazing how people forget about their problems when they see babies!

heidi, good advice about taking my wife fishing. she does go, but won't take the fish off the hook. got any advice on how to break her of that (besides putting diamonds in the fishy's mouth)?!!!

heidi, also good luck on building your pond. you'll find a lot of good info on this site; you'll definately want to check out the info before you start building a pond.

bob, many people have told how great kids were, but if they knew grandkids would be so much fun, they would have had the grandkids first!!!

mark

Grandkids and Grandparents get along so well because they have a mutual enemy!!! LOL

Mark,
The only way I know to break your wife of that habit is to not do it for her. I once caught 2 bass on one lure, it took me half an hour to take them off. My husband and my children were all standing there watching in amazement, but I finally got it done. I think they didn't help cause they knew they could never top 2 fish at once and they were jealous! Tell your wife to wear glove to start off with. Good Luck. Heidi

My wife actually got a 3 lb. bass off a spinner bait and on a rope stringer without touching it.

good advice, thanks!

What did she do Dave, step on it?
My youngest son (15) used to be deathly afraid to take a fish off a hook. Now, he takes them off all of time. He started off lightly stepping on them to get the hook out. This year he fished in the Big Bass Splash on Lake Fork with his Grampa. He had a blast. Now, if I can just get my step-daughter to take off her fish I will get some extra fishin' time. Gotta love that!!

I guess she held the fish up by the spinner bait and stuck the sharp metal point of the stringer thru the thin membrane in the mouth and looped it on; then removed the lure.

I am sitting here looking at pictures of 5 grandkids and they all are holding a fish to show off. They are all about the age of your kids, heidi jo.
With school and jobs occuping their lives, we don't get to see them as we would like.
Enjoy them while you have them.
Life is good!