We’ve all heard the old saying, “give a man a fish and feed him for a day, teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime.” I feel like there should be an addendum to that saying along the lines of, “…teach a kid to fish and you might change their life, forever.” I can’t imagine what my life would be like if my uncle hadn’t taken the initiative to get me out there as often as he did when I was a kid. The inspiration for this gallery came out of some recent experiences and conversations I’ve had over the last month. Some of them detailed below, like Greg Taylor and young Georgio on the shores of Narragansett Bay. Or my own opportunity to share the experience of catching schoolies with my friend’s children Vera and Mirin. It’s almost like the electricity of inspiration crackles through a seldom used wire when a young angler hooks up. I believe the fishing obsession exists because of an instinct, left over from a very different time, when catching a fish meant survival and was seen as a measure of your value as a provider. That dopamine hit that we all feel when we go tight, probably has origins that predate all of human history and it all begins with our children… I think that’s pretty cool.
Accomplished angler and one of the youngest authors ever published in The Fisherman Magazine, Nicholas Dietz, hefts a tanker of a bluefish.Lennon Francis has become quite the fisherman in his 8 years walking this planet. This largemouth bass won the Schoodic Lake Ice Fishing Derby earlier this year and netted the young angler $500! In 2022, he won the white perch category in the same contest! Hus grandmother Sally, who sent the photo said he’s been obsessed with fishing since age 2!This young man was fishing with his dad for stripers on the shore of Narragansett Bay and found the bite to be tough to figure out. That is, until Fisherman contributing writer Greg Taylor came along and gifted young Georgio a metal lip swimmer made by 401 Plugs. Since that moment of generosity, he has become a striper fishing machine. Welcome to obsessed anglers club, Georgio!Joey Goiangos wearing that familiar “I just landed my personal best” best smile!Sisters Mirin (age 4) and Vera Squire (age 7) fished in their back yard with editor Dave Anderson and notched their first few stripers of the 2023 season using a Yo-Zuri Top Knock Pencil.Brothers Mason and Gavin Lawrence put on quite a show with the stripers aboard Reel Cast Charters running out of Old Lyme, CT; that’s a pair of solid fish right there!
