Blueprint For A Bass Angler By T

On the “job” side of things, a doctor is apt to desire all her kids to be in the medical field. And a farmer wants to hand down a love for the land.
Then too, there is the aforementioned recreational aspect. A high school basketball star wants his daughter to drain three-pointers and a former gridiron hero wants the same football feats possible for his son.
And of course, we bass anglers are no different. We are very much geared to the pass-it-on belief. Just as we have, we want our kids to celebrate their first bass, their first club tournament and of course, and eventual tournament win now and then.

Yes, as the parents, the elders, the ones that have “been there”, we want them to like these things for various reasons. We want to hand down the heritage, but for most of us, it is quite simply we want our kids to share in what we know to be fun.

But in all this, these desires for best fishes…er…make that wishes, well,there is no guarantee. There is no guarantee, that a kid will want med school, athletic prowess (much less fame), and of course, they may never care about fishing either. (Oh, the horror.)

So…?
What do we do we fishing folks do?
We plant small seeds and hope they grow.
We take them fishing and give them subtle hints at the fun that can follow for their entire lives.

Blueprint for a bass angler? Is there such a thing? Probably not, but what follows are some folks that have become hooked on fishing. Perhaps you can follow their lead and pass the passion on?

The Makings Of A Champion
An argument of whether bass fishermen are born or created would probably lean toward the former when it comes to Hanson, Kentucky’s Kalem Tippett.

“I have always fished,” said Tippett, who at 17 won the Junior World Bassmaster Championship at Logan Martin Lake in 2007.
Well, OK, almost “always.” His dad, Roger Tippett said Kalem was the equivalent of his own fishing shadow — as soon as the youngster no longer required diaper changes.

“If I went, Kalem went,” Roger said. “We also had a small pond behind the house that acted as sort of a nursery for the boy. My wife would watch him out the window, and he would stay down there, fishing all day long.
The elder Tippett believes his major contribution to his son’s enjoyment of fishing is that he allowed him some independence.“You see some people go fishing with their kids and they end up arguing. Often because the kid is not doing it the way the parent wants it done. Well, what good does that do? I think you only alienate the kid with such disputes and they eventually lose interest.” Roger said he did not do that with Kalem.

“If there was a particular way he wanted to fish, I let him. No, my way of fishing isn’t always the best way. So I always just let him try what he wanted to try. And mainly, I wanted him to enjoy his day on the water the way he wanted to do it. You have to let the kids enjoy it. You have to let them have fun,” Roger said.

It also helped Kalem that his dad wanted to make sure his son was able to further pursue his interests through tournaments. Though Roger did not traditionally bass fish on big waters, he knew a friend who did. So Roger asked his friend if he could help Kalem learn more about tournament fishing, and the youngster’s fishing education continued.

Junior bass champ Kalem is presently attending Kentucky Wesleyan College in Owensboro and majoring in marketing and business management.

He said one of the best things adults can do to spark interest in young anglers, and especially in club fishing, is to allow youngsters to join junior bass club.

“It is really a great thing all the way around. They get to fish and begin to understand the competition side of things.

A Different Level
Sure, there are a lot of parents out there that want their kids just to like fishing.

And a lot of kids do…and then there are a few that take it to an even higher level.

Take Nick Kelly of Brownsville, Tennessee as an example.

This young man won three junior state titles (2003, ’04, ’06), a national title (2003) and a world title (2006) — all before he graduated from high school.

And he knows the bottom line for all this success. It began with a love for fishing.

“Want your kids to fish? Then take them with you, the younger the better, I think,” Kelly said.

“My dad always took me. If he was going fishing, I was going with him. It was one of his hobbies and like most kids, I learned to like what my dad liked.”

Kelly said patience is a key to molding a young angler.

“You have to take baby steps. Go catch bluegill with bobbers and all that. It’s all fun, make sure it stays that way.

“I think the odds of a youngster becoming an angler are greater, if he or she has a good teacher. For example, my dad is a good fisherman and so I had him to take me. This increased the odds that we would catch fish more often, and in turn it would be more exciting to me,” he said.

Kelly also noted that parents should come to the realization that some people simply won’t enjoy fishing as much.

“Some people will really like it and some won’t, but it is that way with many things.”

Going to fishing-related “events” can also help spark more interest in the sport, he said.

“Boat shows, fishing seminars, youth rodeos and casting contests and those kinds of things are also ways to help kids become more interested in fishing,” Kelly said.

He added that fishing in a junior bass club could also be very influential.
“Joining a junior club takes it to whole other level,” Kelly said.
“Junior clubs get to bond with other kids that also really like to fish. And kids typically like what their buddies like, anyway.

“I really think simply taking the extra time getting them out there (on the water) is the primary step. Then, you go from there.”

Speed & Excitement
Marion, Arkansas bass pro and 2007 FLW Eastern Division tourney winner Mark Rose cut his bass fishing teeth via the club scene. He was a member of the Mid-South Bass Club, based in Memphis, Tennessee in the mid-1990s.

He laughed while reflecting on what can get kids drawn to bass fishing.
“If anybody wants to really get a kid leaning toward this sport, they need to put them in a fast bass boat. It will hook them right off,” Rose chuckled.
“I had been fishing a while, mainly in small boats. Them my uncle carried me out in a Ranger with a 115 horse-powered Johnson. We were fishing on the White River in Arkansas and that sapsucker hit the throttle and blew the hat off my head. That got my attention, and I was hooked.

“So, let that wind, caused by a fast bass boat, blow through their hair. That will get them excited,” Rose said and laughed.
He added that making sure to take youngsters a place where they can catch lots of fish is a big deal, too.

“Oh yeah, cooperative fish will help you make a fisherman out of them. Let them get their thumbs worn out from lipping bass so they can then go show their buddies.

“If that, and some trips in a bass boat don’t get ’em fired up about fishing, well, they probably aren’t ever going to be really addicted to the sport.”

Creating A Desire To Fish

Talk about desire to fish bass clubs.

When Strike King bass pro Mark Menendez, Paducah, Kentucky, was a kid he wanted to be in a bass club so badly that he fibbed a bit on his club application.

“It was the Kentucky Lake Bass Club in Aurora, Kentucky. You had to be 16 to be in, but at 14 I wanted in so badly I stretched it a bit,” Menendez remembered.

“I was fortunate, nobody called me on it, and I already had my own boat at 14. A buddy and I showed up (at the first club meeting) with recently completed boater safety certificates, and we were under a probationary period at first, anyway, so it all worked out that way.”

Menendez has two young children and loves that they are already leaning toward fishing.

“We have a small pond, so they have access to fishing every day. But we don’t go every day. Fishing is something we reward them with when they are ready for it. And then, with a child’s short attention span, we only go for 10-20 minutes. If our fishing trip turns into a nature walk as well, that’s good, too, it’s still an outdoor adventure.

“And yes, I think we are onto something as far as our kids becoming fishermen. They are really young, but already they point out boats they see driving down the road. And they beginning to point out which are johnboats and which are big bass boats,” he laughed.

As for allowing his kids to love his sport and his livelihood, Menendez said he certainly not force-feeding his kids.

“Oh, I give them repetition of the things they enjoy, for short durations and with high praise. All the while, I am just there to help. We try to get the maximum enjoyment out of these little trips. I just want them to have fun with something we can do as a family. Kids today are too easily isolated and spend too much time alone, with the Internet and video games. Fishing should always be a family thing.”

Today, he added, introducing kids to the outdoors is almost a cultural decision.

“I promise if you teach them about fishing and hunting, and the proper safety, your kids will also have a much greater awareness and appreciation for the decision-making process.

For example decisions they make in the outdoors are many and have great affect. ‘Should we keep this fish, or release it?’ There are a lot of healthy decisions involved in the outdoors. Kids don’t get that with video games.”

Vacation Plans: Get Away To Catch Something Called Fun

In a busy world, families can often be fragmented.
One mini-van goes to soccer, while the other goes to dance class.
Sometimes, unfortunately, and especially with larger families, the only chance the famed family unit gets to spend extended time together is on vacations or even weekend get-aways.

But these, too, are excellent opportunities to spark some interest in fishing.
Come annual vacation time, why not toss fishing into this mix as well?
“Family vacations were huge, when I was a kid,” said bass pro and Lake Fork guide James Niggemeyer, Van, Texas.

“We always went somewhere we could fish, and I think that really helped plant the seed for my becoming a bass angler,” Niggemeyer said.
A family fishing trip could easily be the main destination of a vacation. Or it could be just as easily a quick side trip near your vacation destination.
Family’s need only do a little advance planning to make it work. And of course, it would be another excellent way to hook your children on fishing. — Taylor Wilson

This Just In: Not Everyone Wants to Fish

So what if your kid doesn’t want to fish?

As bad as that may seem, it is not the end of the world…or even close to it.

Parenting is really spelled T-I-M-E.
Find another way you and your kids can enjoy time together.
Perhaps some day, as your youngster matures, he or she will enjoy fishing, for no other reason than to return the favor and spend time with you. — Taylor Wilson

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