Nebraskaland

NEBRASKAland July 2017

NEBRASKAland Magazine is dedicated to outstanding photography and informative writing with an engaging mix of articles and photos highlighting Nebraska’s outdoor activities, parklands, wildlife, history and people.

Issue link: http://mag.outdoornebraska.gov/i/846037

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 56 of 71

JULY 2017 • NEBRASKAland 57 trips across the country in pursuit of largemouth bass, northern pike, muskies and a number of other fish. But it didn't end with fishing. Marx is there on every opening day dove hunt now, is a crack rifle shot when he's in the stand on the opening day of rifle season and loves stalking turkeys with his bow – all of which started from an afternoon water cooler conversation we had years ago about the outdoors when we were teaching colleagues. Now Feeken is right at the precipice himself. When I recently told him that my favorite place to largemouth bass and northern pike fish is a mere six-and-a-half hours away and that we need to carve out a couple of very long summer days to drive, fish, and drive home again, he had one suggestion: "We need at least one more day." My phone will be ringing very soon. ■ Teaching an Adult In many ways, teaching an adult is the same as teaching a child a new outdoor pursuit, except for one important difference – adults learn faster. While a child's mind is a sponge ready to soak up any information you can pass on to them, they are constantly battling against their own attention span. However, an adult has the ability to pick up the technical aspects more quickly. Plus, adults are generally more coordinated than kids, so teaching a 40-year-old the nuances of a baitcasting reel, for example, will often go smoother than teaching an eight-year-old. Use the tactics that you're explaining to the new angler as well. Nothing helps more to introduce another strategy than to be able to show them fish being caught a different way than they already know. Lastly, be confident enough to say "I don't know" when you're unsure why fish are, or are not, active on a given fishing day. This will further explain to your new fishing partner that their new passion is a constant learning process, and that even though they are new, you will both be learning together. Being Taught Switching from hook-and-bobber fishing to a long list of terminology and techniques including crankbaits, slow-rolling, spinnerbaits, bottom-bouncing, fan-casting and more can be daunting and very uncomfortable. Give yourself time. The more you slowly start to learn from your partner, and then read and see on your own, the more the puzzle pieces start to fit together. Personally, fly fishing with wet flies seemed an impossible task until I did it for the first time at Two Rivers State Recreation Area's trout lake last year. Once I learned to watch my line and use the same stop-and-go line stripping techniques I use when I'm using baitcasting gear for largemouth bass, I had enough success to stay interested. Next came a gradual gaining of knowledge, including definitions of tippets, roll-casting and tapered line. In many respects, the same types of tips I'm giving Feeken regarding bass fishing are being given to me by other anglers regarding fly fishing. Now, under two years later, I'm planning a late-summer trout fishing expedition to Nebraska's Pine Ridge and the Black Hills of South Dakota confident I'll catch fish. The excitement of fi ghting a fi sh, including a largemouth bass, never gets old, whether you've fi shed for 50 years or it's your fi rst time on the water.

Articles in this issue

view archives of Nebraskaland - NEBRASKAland July 2017