BlogMay 2016

4 Chances to Make Family Fishing Memories

4 Chances to Make Family Fishing Memories

By Tom Keer

May 11, 2016

Be sure to include plenty of family fishing trips along with summer jobs, athletic camps and other activities. 

May and June should be designated as family fishing months. I think every month should be family fishing month, but that's just my opinion. Spring and summer always seem to pass quickly, and fishing with my family slows it down. Here are four reasons to include a family fishing trip in your plans.  

Mother's Day. Breakfast in bed, flowers, and cards are great ways to celebrate Mother's Day. But in many instances, mom really wants special memories with her family. My wife loves to fish, and she's already requested her present be a day on the water. Our kids and I are equally in favor, and with luck we'll grill a striper or two for dinner.    

School Graduation. My daughter is graduating from high school this year, and next year we won't get to fish with the regularity we once did. School graduation is a time for celebrating, but I'll temporarily lose a fishing buddy. Free time disappears as kids move from middle to high school; increased responsibilities in school, sports and activities cut into family time. Next year my daughter will be 1000 miles away. A family fishing trip now will give her mom and me something to remember when she leaves in the fall.  
 
Father's Day. What father wouldn't swap a tie for a day on the water? I don't know of any reading this blog who wouldn't jump at the chance! So take dad or granddad out to the pond or lake for some family boating. A fishing license would also make the perfect gift for dad.

Summer Activities. Free time is tight with summer jobs, camps, and just general knockabout fun. Fishing sometimes takes a back seat to the beach, baseball games and drive-in movies. Families that carve out time to get on the water stay connected despite going in different directions.
Making memories is what is important. The ones we make now will carry us over through the times when we're apart. 
Tom Keer
Tom Keer
Tom Keer is an award-winning writer who lives on Cape Cod, Massachusetts.  He is a columnist for the Upland Almanac, a Contributing Writer for Covey Rise magazine, a Contributing Editor for both Fly Rod and Reel and Fly Fish America, and a blogger for the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation’s Take Me Fishing program.  Keer writes regularly for over a dozen outdoor magazines on topics related to fishing, hunting, boating, and other outdoor pursuits.  When they are not fishing, Keer and his family hunt upland birds over their three English setters.  His first book, a Fly Fishers Guide to the New England Coast was released in January 2011.  Visit him at www.tomkeer.com or at www.thekeergroup.com.