Aha Moment & Grateful For It

So it’s kind of funny, since I have grown up with fishing in some aspect during my whole life, but I forgot how much I loved it until this year. As a Mom, I have taken my three children on trips to the U.P., camping in Wisconsin, the local yearly fishing derby at our community park...I taught them to fish and it was a part of our vacations.

And of course, when I say taught them to fish...I mean I really did teach them. No Barbie and Spiderman kids poles, they were taught to use spinning reels on full size poles, hook their own worms and take off their fish. We sang the “Once there were 4 fisherman” song and when they were old enough to go in the boat it was time for First, Biggest, Last competition and casting Mr. Twisters!

All of my children know how to fish and enjoyed it, but my middle son had a true passion for it. I woke up early every Saturday of Memorial Day Weekend to attend the a local fishing derby for 13 years. By high school, our fishing family vacations became fishing tournament trips and instead of teaching I was being surpassed, instead of fishing I was the cheerleader and sandwich maker.

And I have enjoyed every minute of it...the anthem, the launch, the smile on all the teen faces. I would spend all day on my own waiting for the weigh-in, waiting to see the look on their faces to gauge whether they had a limit or not. I was happy in my Fish Momming role, glad to be a part of it, even though I was not fishing.

Then 2020 happened.

Two of our boater friends from my son’s fishing, decided to host a Facebook page for online tournaments and they were having some FB issues. For the most part, I figured they just thought I was the crazy mom of the kid they boated...but they asked for my help with figuring out the page. I am sure there are people more technically savvy at social media, but I was able to determine that they needed a group, instead of a page so that members could interact. And so it began.

Once the page was switched to a group, we started inviting people to join and the numbers grew to over 300. Everyone was invited to share pictures of their fishing adventures during the Spring shelter in place. Next, we started hosting events. Online Social Distancing Bass Tournaments. Official Tournament rules and times, except anyone could participate, no fees and for bragging rights only and you could fish anywhere, boat or shore.

The normal Bass tournaments were cancelled during the shelter in place order, restaurants and businesses were closed, people were working from home or not working, kids were stuck at home doing online schooling and bored...but the people in our group were still fishing. It was the cure, it was stress relief, it was happiness...and you could see it in the pictures that were posted.

Now, I am not sure they really knew what was going to happen when they asked me to be involved. I had a lot of creative ideas...fisherman bios, post your fishing mentor, take a kid fishing, lake clean ups, and live weigh-ins via zoom meetings. We attempted a lot, but of course this was all new and all trial and error. I found my niche, having grown up with a fishing and hunting father with 4 daughters in a teasing family, I had great fun adding my spin on the tournament results and luckily, though I really only knew a few people personally it was well received (hopefully). We experienced some issues, many posts with no scales, limited cell reception for trying to do live weigh in videos from the boats and figuring out where the kayak and canoe fishermen fit--were they boaters or non-boaters, lol. But for roughly 6 weeks, we had regular attendance in the tournaments, outstanding fish pictures and for me, something to look forward to during the “new normal”, fishing was still completely normal, maybe better due to the covid craziness. A post I won’t forget--a tournament fishing Dad whose daughter agreed to go in the boat. She had a nice fish and a big smile and I believe the Dad’s comment was he can’t remember the last time she agreed to go fishing with him...what is not to love about that!!

Because I was working on posting the events, I decided to participate in them too! I have grown up pan fishing, I never fished for bass. My son and I went almost every weekend, we haven’t fished together in years. He became MY teacher...showing me wacky worms and Texas rigs, the techniques for working the baits, taking me to the ponds that he hops around with his friends. My first bass was 0.75#, but I was on the board! For some reason, they gradually got bigger over the next 6 weeks, maybe I was suddenly getting my skills back. And I was still competitive, though I know my son let me hit the good spots first to give me a shot.

The last weekend we fished was the best yet, in terms of bass! We hit a pond that was full of one pounders. We went cast for cast, doubling up and having fun being silly taking selfies. And then it happened...I broke off and my son passed me his pole. It was a baitcaster, which I have not fished with before (not sure he thought I could do it). On my 4th cast (without any bird nesting of the line), I got the hit, set the hook and reeled in my biggest catch to date...4.67# largemouth! It was a great way for me to close out my tournament series, lol. It brought back the excitement, the childhood memories, my competitiveness, the need to show that Mom’s can fish too and a reminder to my son that I really did teach him and I can fish, a reminder for when he continues to surpass me with his skills and goes on to chase his dreams and I go back to being the sandwich maker that he can be proud of me too.

So here’s the thing...the 2020 Social Distancing Online Bass Tournament group didn’t go viral, didn’t have a million members, didn’t make us stars of the fishing world...but it did capture some special moments. For me, that moment when I realized that I love fishing, that I am not just doing what a Mom does to support her child. I love the community, I love the competition, I love the smack talk, being in nature, seeing the pictures, the smiles, the smallest fish pic, and the biggest! I have new online fishing friends, and my personal fish friendships have grown.

It seems fitting for this to be my Mom Flog post for today as I am thankful for the opportunity to have been part of this group, for the time to fish with my son, for the new friends, for the inspiration to know that fishing is a part of me and to start taking steps to incorporate the joy of fishing into my life in a bigger way, to find a way to introduce more kids and families to fishing, which is so much more than catching a fish. This group was my aha moment and I am grateful for it.