Instilling A Passion

Instilling A Passion

Take kids fishing, take ‘em out every chance you get and just have some fun.

Story and photography by Robert Sloan

Thousands of anglers began fishing with a cane pole and a red and white bobber. There is something magical about seeing a plastic float bobbling from the bite of a fish. It doesn’t matter what kind of fish it is, because it’s all good.

As a kid one of my favorite fishing holes was the big pond at the Houston Zoo. It was loaded with bream and a few bass. The fishing was simple – a pinch of a red worm, a hook, split shot and of course the bobber. 

Since those days my fishing techniques have changed. I’ve traveled all over the world and caught everything from leopard eye rainbow trout to sailfish on the fly. And it all started with a red and white bobber.

The thing about fishing is that it’s clean and healthy fun that is chocked full of adventure. Plus it doesn’t have be expensive.

For example, my family used to go camping quite a bit. One of the requirements was there had to be a lake, river or creek nearby. One of our top destinations was Huntsville State Park just north of Houston. It’s got a 210 acre lake with fishing piers and canoe rentals – two things that kids love.

My parents would load me and my two brothers up with a tackle box, Zebco rods and reels, a box of worms and we would walk down the trail to the lake and set up for hours of fishing fun. It was rare that we didn’t have other kids to join in on the action. 

The one thing about Texas is we have an ample supply of lakes, rivers and creeks, not to mention the bays along the coast. And they are all good and fun to fish. One thing my dad loved to do on a summer day was to load us up in the station wagon and head to the Freeport jetties for a day of fishing. It was simple and full of adventure. We could catch crabs on hand lines, or bait up with small pieces of shrimp and catch an ice chest full of croakers. Back then they were big, and tasty.

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