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Fishing For Fathers' Day
You may have heard that a certain footballing celebrity and his sons recently had their rods out, with a catch to show for it, too. Most of us don't quite have £350 to spend on a pair of brogues – and, in general, those who could afford a £350 pair of shoes wouldn't wear them fishing! Bankside mud and smelly water doesn't make for the best shoe polish, after all.
Taking your children or grandchildren angling is a great way to teach them about the world around them, help them learn new skills, and develop personal confidence. For boisterous youngsters and restless teens, angling is a productive way to instil patience. When you're young, being patient can be hard; angling provides a reason to be still, quiet, and focused; after all, you don't want to miss out on seeing a gleaming fish up close and personal, and having a brilliant story to regale your mates with, do you?
For many keen adult anglers, their first taste of fishing came courtesy of a father or grandfather taking them fishing when they were younger. For youngsters who grew up in rural or coastal areas, fishing local ponds, or dropping a rod off the nearest pier, is often the liveliest form of socialisation on offer when you're not yet old enough to go into the pub – it's a productive way to spend your time, and much more interesting than mulling about outside the town's supermarket, or prowling up and down the high street, with no money in your pockets. One of the frequent comments men make, in response to criticisms that they don't spend enough time with their children, is that they simply don't have the skills to engage with their children's hobbies. The simple solution? Engage your children in a hobby that is fairly straightforward to get started with. Have a look on our site for rod and reel combos,see if you can grab a terminal tackle pack, which gives you everything you need in one handy buy, and finish off with your choice of Advanta bait, pack it all in one of our stylish Endurance holdalls, and head out to a likely-looking water near you! If you're already an avid angler, it's likely your children and grandchildren are already following in your footsteps – passion is infectious, and the quickest way to come to enjoy something is to watch someone else getting pleasure from it.
An Angling Fathers' Day To Remember
8am: Breakfast in bed, cards, and gifts.
10am: Head out for a day at the water's edge. If you have a river, lake, or beach near you, why not walk there, and talk about the architecture and wildlife you pass on the way? If you're taking the car, and you're heading out fly or sea fishing, where you're able to keep your catch, remember to pack the barbecue! For those living by the coast, mackerel should be starting to come through now, and, as the Angling Direct team were recently observing, these fish (which are very tasty drizzled with lime and grilled, wrapped in bacon, if you like that sort of thing), will throw all but throw themselves at your hook.
12pm: Get set up, and enjoy a light lunch of sandwiches and a nice cuppa. Study the water in front of you, and talk to your kids about the signs you're seeing, and what they mean. Then it's over to the rods, and some focused attention for the next few hours.
5pm: Time to head for home. If you've been fishing for salmon, trout, or sea species such as mackerel, and you have a barbecue with you, why not bring in your rods as you grill your fish on the bank? There's nothing quite like fish that's still got the tang of the water on it, and, best of all, you know that it's healthy – it probably gave you a very lively fight before you got it to the bank, and it wouldn't have been able to manage that in a poor state of health. As the evening cools and dims, and you enjoy a tasty supper, begin the process of raising a socially conscious generation of adults by talking with your children about why knowing where your food comes from, and appreciating the effort that goes into getting food on your plate, is important.
Bend It Like Beckham
If the nation's favourite celebrity has inspired you to take your children – including your daughters; while the women in David Beckham's life weren't at the bankside, there's no reason why women and girls can't fish just as well as their husbands, boyfriends, and brothers – out for a day's fishing, but you don't really feel the need to spend £1,500 on gear, have a look at our site, where a full adult's outfit, including durable, waterproof Skee-Tex Field Boots, Trakker Thermal Ripstop Cargo Trousers, Trakker Elements Jacket, and a stylish Korda Camo Army Cap; a stylish, durable outfit that won't look out of place if you need to pop into the supermarket on your way to the bank.
With rods, reels, and luggage to suit all budgets, you don't have to be able to afford a £6million Oxfordshire country house to have a good time; with free delivery on orders over £9, and delivery within 2-3 working days, you don't even need to have an Angling Direct store near you to get the kit you need in plenty of time for Fathers' Day, and the first weekend of the new coarse fishing season. If you'd prefer to buy your tackle from a physical store, where you and your kids can handle rods, watch the way lures move, and ask experienced, knowledgeable staff about the best baits for the water you're heading to, and the fish you plan to target, finding your local Angling Direct store couldn't be easier – just click, type, and see exactly where to find us!
However you choose to spend June 17th, whether you spend it with your father, grandfather, or simply an older man who has taught you a lot, and has been like a father to you, we hope you and your family have a great day – and, if someone in your family is planning to pick up a rod for the first time, we hope they're rewarded for their efforts with at least one catch – if you do get some fins on the bank, why not share your success, and drop us some photos, and maybe even the story behind your catch? Email catch@anglingdirect.co.uk
