Fishing doesn't have to be complicated to be fun

You don't have to make going fishing complicated to have fun. Generally the less complicated you can make fishing, the more fun you'll have, and the more often you'll go.

Recently my son John invited my son-in-law, Joe Hudson, and me and his two oldest children to go fishing a block from home in his subdivision. My son had bought $2 worth of crickets that he put in a brown paper bag and a tub of red worms that cost $1.50.

We set out by walking to the pond. Then we sat on the bank and for about an hour caught and released bluegills. Every time a cork would sink, the children, ages 2 to 4, would squeal, yell and try to turn the handle on the reel to bring in the bluegills. Once we got the fish out of the water, the youngsters enjoyed the thrill and excitement of touching a live fish and then throwing it back into the water.

The fishing and the catching only lasted about 45 minutes before the children picked up rocks and chunked them in the water. Then that activity lasted for about 15 minutes until they discovered they could throw sticks and pine cones into the water. Within less than an hour and a half, the children and the adults all had a great day of fishing and taking pictures.

The time had arrived for everyone to go back home and eat dinner.

Many times I think we overcomplicate our outdoor activities. Do you have to hike all day with a backpack, a lunch, a map and a hand- held GPS receiver? Or, can you enjoy a hike that's an hour's stroll through the neighborhood when you get home from work just before dinner?

Do you have to make every picnic a major event that costs about $100 to put on and requires a half a day of travel to reach the place where it's held? Instead, take some sandwiches from home, walk to a nearby park or pond, spread a blanket, stay outdoors for 45 minutes to an hour and enjoy something delicious to eat.

Does the definition of a great fishing trip have to include a $30,000 bass boat, $10,000 to $20,000 worth of electronics, fishing tackle and expensive rods and reels, or can you have just as much fun fishing with a $20 closed-face spinning rod and reel, worms and crickets? And instead of an hour or two hour drive to a lake, can't you find a place to fish within a block or two of home? Does a fly- fishing trip have to involve an expensive rod, hand-tied flies and an airplane ride to Wyoming, Colorado or Montana?

Or, can you take inexpensive popping bugs, a cheap flyrod and line and make a wading trip to a small stream close to home where you can catch bluegills and small stream bass?

Often we believe that we only can enjoy the outdoor adventures taken on a long trip far away from home. However, your own neighborhood often has outdoor adventure within walking distance or perhaps a 30-minute drive from your front door.

So spend more time outside this summer -- either alone or with your family -- and look for water close to home. You've probably seen it every day going back and forth to work or to the store and never considered the possibility of fishing that water or picnicking or hiking around that water.

My three oldest grandchildren never will forget the day they went fishing with their dads and their granddad. I know my statement to be true, because after I'd returned home from our 1-1/2-hour fishing trip I received a phone call from my 4-year-old grandson, who asked, "Pop, when can we go fishing again? Can we go tomorrow?"

And you know what? I've got the pictures to prove what a great time we had.

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