# Early in life lesson learned



## Bears Butt (Sep 12, 2007)

A hundred years ago, I was home on leave from the Air Force and decided I needed to take all my nieces and nephews our for a fun day of fishing. Well, there ended up being 8 of them and a couple of their friends. Ok, a trip to the Bear River to catch whatever would bite. Life was good.

We fished (sort of), I spent most of my time untangling lines and trying to get those cheapo reels to spool out rotten line. The kids tried their best, but it just wasn't happening. Frustration in my mind was very high. The kids kept their attitudes very much up, cuzz they were fishing with uncle Butt and they loved it.

Lesson Learned at an age of 20....If and when I have kids, I am not going to buy them cheapo fishing gear. They are going to get what I consider the best at the best price and I'll be danged if I'm going to spend a day fishing untangling line that breaks at the slightest tug.

When my two boys became of age for their first rods and reels, I bought them Shakespear rods and Mitchell 300 reels, with 6 lb. Stren line. After that we ENJOYED fishing. Sure there were a lot of tangled lines, but not because of backlashes. Just their way of "aiming" when they cast. Both of them are very good fishers and I just love it when they are showing their own kids the ins and outs of fishing on their own.

How about your story?


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## Grandpa D (Sep 7, 2007)

You are spot on.
As I have been involved with the DWR Youth Fishing Club for the past 6 years, I have seen all kinds of problems form kids using cheep gear.

My sons started with my old Mitchell 314 reel and then got their own rods and reels for birthdays and Christmas.

I even gave them the opportunity to match dollar for dollar what they would earn.
So if they earned say $25.00, I would match it and they would have $50,00 to buy gear with.
The only stipulation was that it had to be spent on something that I approved of.
We did this until they turned 18.


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## Chaser (Sep 28, 2007)

-Always buy two of each lure (when you find one that works, you'll inevitable lose it)
-if you buy a combo rod/reel, immediately strip the existing line off and replace it with 4-6lb mono. So much easier to deal with.
-Never trust others with your gear. They will break it. This includes placing gear in a place you would assume others know it is there, ie truck tailgates, car doors, on the ground, etc, etc. 
-Take care of your stuff, and it will take care of you. I have never had a problem with this, but my dad is horrible about it. Stuff just gets tossed into a tackle box and kicked around. Next trip rolls around, he assumes he has it, and low and behold, its not there, or its broken. He once fished for 4 days on Boulder Mtn without a fly reel. He just held an old spool of floating line in his hand the whole time. Sure, he caught fish, but it made it a chore instead of fun.


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