This weekend marked another special family adventure that we look forward to every year.
We were extra excited about this annual trip because this year we “upgraded” to a cabin with a bathroom and a shower.
When we arrived at our destination, the weather was amazing and stayed that way for most of our trip. This would be the first year that we booked as early as we did. The fishing would prove to be a challenge as I assumed, but getting the boys to go fishing would prove to be even more difficult. They were content with riding their bikes, playing at the playground and kayaking.
We decided to make this trip a family trip every year where everyone has the choice to go fishing, or not go fishing with no pressure or stress to catch fish. The “catch” on this trip was to learn the lake in the short amount of time I had and to get us into a few fish. When we finally got out fishing, we tried our usual warmer weather spots knowing that the colder water temperatures and turning lake would prove to be a challenge.
After a few quick trips on the lake, we were starting to dial in locations and depths of active kokanee. It was a challenge learning about fishing a deeper, colder lake in the spring. On one trip, we hooked and landed 2 kokanee 8ft off the downrigger with a 100ft setback, using a Gibbs Delta Tackle skateboard dodger with a bling blade tipped with corn. On another trip, after a warm lunch, we found some kokanee in shallower water and landed one using a dark orange (almost red), GRAMS TACKLE BOX shrimp spinner lure. While I’ve heard of these shrimp lures in the past, this was the first time I’ve used one and caught a fish with one. When the water warms up, I have no doubt that these lures will be a “must” have in my tackle bag.
My main take away from this weekend (on top of meeting some great people and members of our group) was how colder spring temperatures can adversely affect kokanee behaviors. The kokanee we ended up hooking, were caught in areas of the lake that had a warmer surface temperature compared to other unsuccessful areas. I can only assume that our slower spring trolling speed of 1.2 to 1.3 mph combined with longer leaders, a longer setback and warmer “happier” water temperatures helped bring some success in the short time we had on the water.
Our trip was not complete until we were able to “hide” a “new,” fun way to help engage families to go fishing with their kids and have fun (adults can help with the fun on this too). A while ago the boys asked if we could make some geocache boxes to place at the lakes we fish. They have been getting into geocaching and we have a lot of fun as a family finding them. And so, we spent a lot of time building lures and finding fun toys for other kids to enjoy when they go fishing. We look forward to returning to these geocache locations to see what others have left in there. I’m also extremely excited to start leaving my productive “lure of the day” for each lake in the geocache for a kid to find after I return from fishing that lake on each trip.
One thing I’ve learned about fishing with kids and a family is to be patient. I used to be that guy who would fish from dawn to dusk and skip lunch or dinner because the bite was on. I would be on the river or lake while everyone else was at home missing some of the most productive fishing of the day. It was always a matter of “I don’t want to miss anything.” Now, as I get older, my perspective and way of thinking has changed thru numerous family outings and conversations with people. I now enjoy every minute and chance I have to go fishing with my family and look for the moments in time that I can reflect on later down the road. I look for those teachable moments where I can help my boys learn to love fishing and the outdoors. As time goes by, I continue to see how taking the time to engage children can help them enjoy what they love or learn to love by having fun.
Even though we did not fish in the boat as much as I would have liked, I enjoyed watching my boys cast from shore and fish out of their kayaks. They have truly found the passion I wanted to share with them. They even brought their own lure boxes as they schemed to “catch a big one” all on their own. It brought a tear to my eye when they decided to share this passion with other kids thru geocaching. We had fun hiding them in easy to find locations for all ages of children. I truly hope that we can continue helping others learn thru fun ways like this over time, because one day, the future of our fisheries will be in our children’s hands.