A few things kids can learn by fishing
How to attach a trailer hitch. (automotive)
Pray for safety and success on the way. Pray thanks for your safe return home, even if you weren’t successful. (religion)
After rainy days, there are more dead animals on the road — low barmoetric pressure makes us dull. (biology, meteorology)
Dew is caused by condensation. (physics)
The deer and wild turkeys are out in the early morning. (wildlife biology)
There are 36 worms in a container. Use half-worms if the fish are hitting well, whole worms if they’re reluctant. (math, economics)
Each practice has a vocabulary: the boat has a bow, stern, gunwales, transom, a beam, a keel, a starboard, and a port; the lake has flats, ledges, holes, and grass beds; the parts of the rod and reel have names, and there are different names for different hooks. (philosophy, maritime studies, angling)
How to tie knots: two half hitches on a bight to secure the anchor rope, trilene knot, uni knot, palomar knot. (fieldcraft)
Sometimes, your line gets tangled. Take your time to untangle and don’t get angry. Shit happens. (philosophy)
Sometimes, you get stuck by a hook. Squeeze some blood out to clean it, shake it off, and move on. There are things to do. (virtue ethics)
If a bobber won’t “stand up,” your bait is on the bottom, or you need to add some split shot for extra weight. (logic, physics)
Fish species identification. (wildlife biology)
How to “back out” the hook to remove it from the fish. (angling)
If you don’t intend to eat the fish, return it to the water. Swish some water through its gills to re-oxygenate it, then let go. It’ll swim off. (ethics)
How and why to kill humanely. (ethics)
To steer the boat, you keep one eye on a point ahead while your hand operates the tiller. At first, you’ll make a bunch of S-turns and everyone on the lake will think a drunk is operating the boat; but then your eyes, mind, and body harmonize so you can hold your bearing. “Practice makes perfect.” (neurobiology)
The boat doesn’t have tires in contact with a road. Tack into the wind, or jibe downwind. (maritme practical skills, logic)
Real things — like land, water, sky, plants, animals, and weather — are more interesting and surprising than stuff on a two-dimensional screen. Doing things with your whole body and mind among real things is a lot more satisfying than doing things on a two-dimensional screen. (psychology, self-help)
Sometimes, even authority figures (like grandfathers) will do incomprehensibly stupid things . . . like ground the boat to rescue a snagged 50-cent lure. (philosophy, psychology, psychopathology)
Random reinforcement is a component of gambling addiction. “One more cast” is never one more cast. (psychology)
Give other anglers their space. Fishing etiquette. (ethics, sociology)
Rules have reasons. The size and number limits on fish are to sustain the fish population, and the fish ecology, for the future. (law, political science, ethics)
People who rip past nearby on fast boats and jet skis, and mouthy property owners who think they own the lake, are jerks until you’re fifteen, then they become assholes. (developmental psychology)
Fishing sociability involves the ability to exchange bullshit stories at a rate of one per minute from passing boats. On land, before or after fishing, fishing sociability calls for the exchange of interrogatory greetings, at least three bullshit stories (in less than three minutes), and at least one bad joke. e.g., “Did you leave any for me?” It’s the law. (sociology, linguistics, rhetoric)
Fish location and behavior is a combination of structure, temperature, surface activity, wind, light conditions, and little random shit you can’t know or predict. Life is like that. No straight lines of cause and effect. (practical philosophy)
Sometimes, even when you’ve taken everything you know into account, your plan won’t work, because you can’t know everything. Then you try something different out just to see if it works. (practical philosophy, experimental science)
Fish are predators, like you; they like structure from behind which to ambush. Smaller fish like structure to hide from bigger fish. In life, don’t be the fish who falls for the lures that mimic something you desire. (wildlife biology, conflict theory, self-defense)
Dragonflies hang around boats. Dragonflies are horny. Dragonflies will have sex with each other on your leg. (wildlife biology, sex education)
Sometimes in life, you catch a turtle. (philosophy)
You’re gonna to get stuck in the weeds sometimes. Shit happens. (philosophy)
Life and death are part of the same thing. (philosophy)
Ospreys and gulls dive for fish from the air. Herons spear fish. Sand Hill cranes sound kinda like their laughing. Swans look pretty, but they can act out. Swallows and martens play around with boats. Red-wing blackbirds swear at you. (ornithology)
Give the lure/bait presentation time to work (patience). The wind and waves are making it jump around from the fish’s point of view, and they’ll study on it before they strike. (wildlife psychology, critical thinking)
If the fish is taking out drag, don’t reel or you’ll break the line. Sometimes you gotta finesse things. It’s big and strong, but it’ll get tired eventually. (angling, life tactics)
If you squeeze the sides of the fish and it “pees,” it’s a male. (wildlife biology)
That fish might be small, but it’s fins are sharp. (philosophy, health and safety)
A lot of the fun is the mystery — something hidden in the water. (psychology, religion)
Waves and wakes won’t turn the boat over; but horsing around or trying interpretive dance moves in the boat can result in an unplanned swim. (applied logic, health and safety)
Stop fishing for a bit while you’re out. Just be and let the wind and light pass through you. Let it all in and let let flow out with neither thought nor purpose. Receive and release. That’s Sabbath. (religion)
Always approach the loading dock from the upwind side so the boat doesn’t suddenly blow away while you’re trying to dismount. (practical meteorology, logic)
You’re not done yet. You have to clean the fish. (philosophy, aquaculture, food preparation, fieldcraft)