By Dwayne Zboril

One thing I have learned through my years of fishing is patience, it is the key to successful and enjoyable fishing. I have seen more anglers get upset and ruin a perfectly good fishing day due to a lack of patience, than due to poor conditions. I was taught to fish by my father who had to have patience to put up with me, so now I have to keep that in mind when teaching others to fish.

Recently my wife and I took a fishing trip while we were babysitting our niece. She is a high energy 4 year old who loves to go fishing, what better way to spend the day. It was a cool day, the winds were blowing in at a steady pace, but it looked like a good day to fish. We hit the lake that I grew up on, a private 45 acre lake with a good population of fish. The weeds had crept in and the fishing was tough in recent weeks. I tied on a 1/8 oz spinnerbait, chartreuse and white in color with a single willow leaf blade. The little bundle of energy is named shelby, she was excited as could be. She was asking tons of questions and jumping up and down with excitement. She wanted to catch a fish, a big fish!

I made several casts towards flooded timber piles without a strike, but suddenly the line went tight. I set the hook and reeled in a small largemouth, shelby squeeled with delight as she ran towards me. We posed for a quick picture and released the fish. We landed several more small fish that day, but the fishing wasnt really that important, it was the excitement that appeared on shelby's face.

I mentioned patience earlier, that came into play when my wife showed shelby how to cast a spinning reel. The first few times she flung the rod forward without engaging the bail. I had to duck several times and remove the lure from my shirt sleeve more than once. We showed her the steps one by one and she tried and tried until she made a good cast. Shelby was able to flip the bail and make a cast all by herself, she grinned from ear to ear with pride. It would have been very easy to get upset and take the rod away, but that's not the way I was taught. I learned from my father who went through the same things I just did, including the removal of hooks from his clothing.

The art of fishing and the outdoor experience is something that is meant to be shared.The knowledge we passed on to Shelby and the knowledge she passed on to us was priceless. We learned to treasure the simple act of teaching someone to fish and enjoy the outdoors. The look on her face and the gleam in her eye made the day unforgetable. I learned many valuable leassons that day, passing on ones knowledge is a priceless gift and the respect for those who taught you. Shelby learned the art of casting and I learned the act of patience. Pass on your knowledge of fishing and the outdoors to anyone who wants to learn, whether it be a child, a friend, or a co worker.

dwaynez