Greatest Job Ever! report*

I’ve held a ton of jobs in my life. Some of them were good, some not so good. As a youth I trimmed Christmas trees. As a result, I cannot stand the smell of a live pine tree! I guided canoe trips on the pine river one year. That was fun. I was a ski instructor in the winter time as well as a Ski Patrol member. Again, that was a fun job. I did logging for a while, construction, and even spent four years training to kill people (Marines). Hands down though, the best job I’ve ever had is being a father.

Being a dad isn’t a 9 to 5 job. It doesn’t come with any fringe benefits. In terms of a dollar value, it actually costs you money. The payback however is being afforded the ability to shape and mold your child to be a good, polite, kind person. To be a better version of yourself. Your payback is the opportunity to watch them grow and develop.

For father’s day, I don’t want any gifts. I don’t need time to get away and do the special things I want to do without anyone around. All I really want is to continue to spend time with my daughter, pass on the things I enjoy, and hope that she will continue to enjoy doing them with me.

With the weather forecast being perfect, and it being Father’s Day weekend, I knew that the local boat launches would be packed. Throw in a large veterans fishing event scheduled for Sunday and a massive number of boats involved with pre-fishing at the mouth of the Saginaw River on Saturday, I knew that the key to success would be to get there early.

Abby and I left the house at 3:30am, made one stop for fuel, and made it to the boat launch at 5:45. We were greeted with zero people in front of us and a clear launch. We were on the water and at our fishing spot around 6:15. We picked up two walleye very quickly (before we had three rods set) and then proceeded to catch everything but walleye. I told her that we were way earlier than usual and the fishing would pick up after 8:30 in the morning. She couldn’t make it that long however and decided a nap was in order:
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About the time of her nap, I moved out slightly and proceeded to play Chinese fire drill in the back of the boat. At one time I think I only had one rod in the water. By the time she woke from her nap, I had 11 walleyes in the box and we only needed 5 more to make our limit.

For the next hour we picked away, caught a bunch of small fish, and she caught her first Master Angler White Bass.

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By 11am, we needed one more walleye to make our limit. We had put almost 40 walleyes over the rail, upgraded a lot of fish in our box, and had a great time. The sun was getting high, it was getting hot, and we were ready to be done. I told her we were missing something… “Music”. No sooner did I turn on the tunes when three rods took off. We boated three more walleyes, threw one in the box, and called it our limit. She helped me reel in the rods and, as luck would have it, one of the last rods had another fish. We were able to upgrade our box further and end our day on a high note.

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We boated just over 40 walleyes, probably close to 100 freshwater drum, 4 perch, 3 white bass, 3 catfish, and used almost 6 dozen night crawlers. I got to enjoy a day on the water and spend time with my daughter doing one of my favorite activities. There is not a finer first mate out there.

Someday, I hope she will be taking me fishing on Father’s day, using what she learned, and putting me on tons of fish. Until that time, daddy knows how to find them and how to catch them!

Outstanding post. Thanks for sharing.

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Originally Posted by slabsrus

Outstanding post. Thanks for sharing.

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X2!!

Sounds like a fantastic morning for you and what a spread of fish!

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What a pretty little girl and a great report

What a day of fishing, no surprise tho great story.

Great story, great outlook on life and excellent job of passing on the values to the next generation.

Greatest thing I have ever been called is "Dad"

Good story Rich

It was beautiful out there don't recall to many time's your able to go full speed without fighting the waves

Yes, it was a great day. I've had a few days were top speed was in order. Walleye need a little chop and we had just enough. I swear you and I must have left the marine at the exact same time though. I even looked for your truck too. I would have stayed the weekend up there but it was just to darn hot to camp.

Great story these are truly memories some never get to experience and a great way to raise your kids, wish more parents would get involved themselves and have the patience to teach there kids so they can pass it on to theirs! I know I was taught at a young age and my son will be raised the same way glad to see it still happening that way for some good job Dad!

What a great report.....you sir, are an inspiration to all fathers....

Yup Rich, you got all your priorities in order. Great dad and great kid. Thanks for sharing!

Rich, I've been meaning to respond to your post since I first read it but you had my mind spinning in so many directions I didn't quite know where to start. I had flashbacks of fishing with my grandpa when I was a lad, taking my oldest daughter to the river catching carp when she was 2 years old, taking my son fishing every year on his birthday (July 5th), taking my youngest daughter and her friends fishing on Houghton and Missaukee during our summer camping trips and so many more. You are making memories that will last a lifetime I just have to say, cherish these moments because they grow up in the blink of an eye. You, sir, are doing it right

Great post! Loved it!

Thanks everyone.

I grew up with three sisters (no brothers). I spent a ton of time with my dad but he always included my sisters. Often times, he would take them one on one. Over the years, they moved away, went to college, started families and moved back closer to home. One of them was a great bow shot when she was younger but put it down for 30 years. It wasn't until a few years ago (in her mid forties) that she picked it back up again and has been very successful. She also does a ton of fishing. My middle sister never really had much to do with the outdoors. My youngest sister loves to fish. She works in the outdoors industry (boats as a matter of fact).

For me it was never a doubt that I would include my child (boy or girl) into the outdoors. My job is to show her the right way to do things, get her to experience as much as possible, in the best way that I can. Whether she continues to do it when she gets older will be completely up to her. I don't want her mind or memories to be skewed due to a bad experience so I treat ever situation with kid gloves. I explain the reason why we let certain fish go (females during spawning), why I shoot a specific deer over another. The importance of harvesting those animals for the future. I teach her about the importance of what we do, why we do it, and how we can enjoy it at the same time. She understands the importance of trapping, how we can be humane, release non target animals unhurt, and still control the population.

Last week, we caught our 24th "legal" fish. It was a cigar shaped 13.5 inch walleye. I asked her if she wanted to keep it, finish our limit, and head in, or throw it back and keep fishing. Without hesitation she said "throw it back". It was over the side before the words finished leaving her mouth. She was rewarded a little while later with a nice healthy fat 22 inch fish.