Gone Fishing- Outside Scoop

Over the summer Youth Odyssey had many opportunities to go fishing, and the youth were natural anglers. Fishing is a great art to learn because it can do several things for you. First, in a survival situation knowing how to fish can help you find food. Second, fishing teaches you patience. Third, fishing is a great activity to do with others or by yourself. Furthermore, fishing can allow us to simply just enjoy nature and all the beauty it brings. Catching a fish, however, is the best part and it’s a great feeling. Also, don’t forget your camera!

If you have never gone fishing it might be intimidating to try it out for the first time. Fish can be slimy and gross. Yet, you can’t really avoid getting dirty and messy playing around outside either. We love to get our hands dirty in Youth Odyssey! The first thing you need to do is figure out where you can go fish or where you would like to go fish. Then you need to research the rules and regulations of your state or region. For Texas, check out the Outdoor Annual. Now it is time for you to get some gear and become an angler!

There are poles designed for saltwater, and for freshwater. If you will be doing any kind of saltwater fishing, you probably should invest in a saltwater pole. A saltwater pole is essential because saltwater contains bigger species of fish, and is more corrosive to the pole. The saltwater poles are typically more expensive as well. Therefore, I wouldn’t suggest spending the extra buck on a saltwater pole if your focus is freshwater. At Youth Odyssey we mainly fish at freshwater sources located at State Parks, so we have freshwater poles for now. We plan on exploring the saltwater eventually, mostly so we can catch some really big fish and be even more legit anglers!

Once we obtained our poles, we needed to get our tackle box filled and ready. There are certain things you have to obtain in order to start fishing, but it’s always a good idea to get more if you can. What we recommend are hooks, sinkers, bobbers, extra line, gloves (helps with the yucky slimy stuff), pliers, scisscors, measuring tape, filet knife, net, fish handbook, and lures. There are many other items you could need, and I would recommend researching what else to bring for your trip.

Now we have our fishing poles and all our gear, but now we need to get everything set up to be true anglers. In order to fish, one important thing to know is how to tie a good fishing knot. At Youth Odyssey we primarily use the Uni-Knot and the Half-Blood Knot. Both of these knots are easy to tie, and are very secure. Any fishing knot will be do the trick. Also tying an overhand safety knot is something I suggest to give your knot more security, although it isn’t necessary.

Throughout the summer the kids loved going fishing. It was even more fun for us to see them turn into awesome anglers. We love to take the kids fishing because it helps connect them with the outdoors. Our goal is for youth to broaden their horizons, experience the outdoors, and learn more about themselves. Often times the kids find new passions within our program, and it is amazing to see their transformation over the years. We encourage you to grab your pole, and go be one with nature. Go catch a fish!