Do You Struggle as a Dad

     

Fuck!  I struggle as a dad!

I love my kids more than anything, there’s no question about that.

But, there are times when I just suck at dadhood.  My kids are 3 and 5 now and have more beauty and passion than I could have ever imagined.

It’s amazing.

So why do I let work get in the way of getting outdoors with my kids?  Maybe it’s because I dream of a better life in the future for them.  A time when I will be in a situation where I will have that lifestyle business so we can travel more.

So I can do more fishing trips with them.  I just don’t have the resources todo everything I would like to right now.

I don’t think I will ever have all of the resources which is part of the reason I’m writing this.

Don’t wait until everything is perfect to get out there.

Get out today

Go do something or make sure you have a trip setup with your kids to go fishing.

There are lot’s of other tips out there to get you thinking about how you can do a better job as an outdoors father.

I’m going to try and dig in a little today to show you what changed for me.  I hope you can dig into your stuff as well so you can understand it’s ok to struggle as long as you continue to work.

Here’s what changed for me……..

First Steelhead Trip with my 5 Year Old

I took my 5 year old on her first steelhead trip recently.  She’s been on the river and floated through some stuff before but it’s never been the daddy daughter one on one all steelhead trip.

Maybe I was pushing it a little bit chasing one species that can require a crazy amount of patience, but It was F’n great!

I kept the fishing short and didn’t stand out there for hours.  We jumped in and made some casts then I let her go back to her toys in the dirt on the river bank for mini breaks.

I remember an old friend of mine, Charlie who mentioned that he burnt his kids out on steelhead fishing early because he would have them out all day on a drift boat in the cold.

Maybe a little extreme.  I never forgot that.

At the end of this trip she was casting well enough to hook into a fish.  The next step is to just find a run that’s easy for her to land one.

Now, I can’t wait to get out this weekend and do a little trout fishing.  Work on the back cast a little and talk about bugs.

         

Bugs!  They frickin love bugs.  I’m a proud daddy.

Your Call to Action

If you don’t have a trip planned right now get one on the books.

Don’t wait for the perfect trip and instead just get out and do it.

Give up something you don’t need in your life to make more room for them.

Here’s just a few things I have given up that were time wasters for me —>  TV.  Sports.  Partying.  alcohol, etc.  Ok, maybe a little weed every once in a while is still ok.

If you are new to fly fishing and would like some help getting started click here to see what gear you’ll need.

Or, just take a look here and some of my other fly fishing 101 posts.

Conclusion

My kids are going to come out of this year dominating the river.  I just need to make sure their swimming gets up to par and we get that cast nailed so it looks sweet.

I am looking into the future now and seeing two bad ass adult fisherwoman.  Waste deep in a steelhead run that’s a little on the edge.

Trying to get one more swing in there before having to drop out of the run.

Meeting back at camp to tell the story of that subtle hookup that turned out to be a story for the year.

And preparing for the next morning for another chance.

Girls, if you are reading this now at some future point please leave a comment and tell me that I was on the right track here and you have some fish stories to share.

Help the next generation keep up the passion and the love.

Who’s with me?

If you have a story about your last amazing fish leave a comment below.

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