Ever see a kid fishing? There may be more to it than just fun.

[MineralMan]

That kid might be catching food for the family's next meal. Sometimes, in our affluent society, we dismiss that idea and think it no longer applies to anyone any more. Not true.

Rural kids in the US used to go to the local fishing hole and catch bullheads or something else. They brought them home to Mom, who turned them into a meal that saved the family some money in difficult times. The same is true today for some. I know that the Hmong kids in my neighborhood who ride their bicycles to the nearby lake always come home with a bag of fish. They'll be eating their catch.

I never really thought about that much. I was always a catch-and-release angler. A few times, though, when I was casually fishing for panfish and releasing them at a small lake, someone would ask me if they could have the fish I caught. I was good at catching them, and the kid on the dock wasn't necessarily so good at it. I finally figured out that those kids were fishing for dinner.

Back in the 1980s, I went on a performance tour with a choir and orchestra to the UK and Europe. When we first landed in London, we stayed at a hotel at Graves End, right on the Thames River. It was afternoon, and I was monstrously jet-lagged, so I went for a walk to try to tire myself out enough to sleep.

On a dock on the Thames, I encountered a boy, probably about 12 years old, fishing in the river. I asked him, "Are you having luck?"

He said, "I'd better have luck, or me Mum will have to open a tin."

That incident was the first time in my life that I realized that fishing is not just a sport for some people. It is food-gathering. It made me think. Learning to fish actually could be a life-saving skill at some point. It is a necessary skill in some parts of the world, even right where we live, sometimes. We don't often think about that.

[Archae]

1. My Father started me loving to fish.

He and I only went hunting a couple times, between us.

But we both loved fishing, and we liked CATCHING fish, not just fishing!

Being a native of Wisconsin, we'd catch a lot of bluegills, perch, crappies, bass and the occasional Northern Pike.

[MineralMan]

3. My parents took us on camping trips all through

my childhood. Always to a river or lake. My favorite days were ones where I'd get up at dawn, wander down to the water and catch a mess of trout, before anyone else was up. I'd clean the fish on the spot. Then, we'd have trout and eggs for breakfast. My Mom would fry a few strips of bacon, then fry some eggs, and shake the trout in a plastic bag with flour, salt, and pepper, and fry them in the bacon drippings, too. Yum!

[Archae]

18. My Mom developed her own recipe...

Fillet the panfish, dip them in melted butter, then in flour, and fry them up to a golden brown in an iron skillet.

I sure miss those days.

[Lochloosa]

2. That is very common here in the south. My brothers and I fished for dinner a lot when we were young

[MineralMan]

5. Yes. I've heard many stories of kids fishing for dinner.

It's uncommon in most places, though, but not in rural America.

[LanternWaste]

4. ok

that's something alright

[MontanaMama]

6. My kiddo is an avid angler.

On his bike and fishing the creek that’s a hop from our house. He and his posse often do a 25 mile round trip bike/hike following that same creek up into a wilderness area to fly fish for cutthroat trout. They were all born and raised doing it and it thrills me when they all take off for the day with fly rods on their backs. The come home tired, hungry and full of stories about who caught what and if they saw a bear...it’s the best. For those kids, it’s freedom.

[aka-chmeee]

7. Grew up fishing...

mostlly in a small creek near home; and bullheads were the usual catch. We kept them from 6 inches up. They provide a meal fit for a king (as I recall, ahem!). 60 years have gone by and I still fish when I can, in that same small creek. We eat the catfish I catch and the carp as well. Not because we must, we just like the fish. But... I haven't caught or seen a bullhead for probably 50 years.

[Retired Engineer Bob]

8. Great post MM

My dad and I would head up to Canada once a year for a quiet week of fishing. Got more than a few walleye and northern. Most were catch and release, but we had a nice walleye dinner two or three nights. These are some of my most cherished memories.

[GoCubsGo]

9. That's how my mom's father fed his family early on.

He immigrated here from Eastern Europe a a child, and I'm not sure he even graduated from high school. Until WWII provided good-paying jobs, this is how they made do. They also had a garden, and my grandmother also raised chickens and rabbits. Grandpa continued fishing once they got on their feet better, but it was as much for fun as it was for a meal.

[GulfCoast66]

10. We were not exactly poor growing up. But mom did not work and the parents had to watch their budget

We used to fill up the freezer with Seatrout, redfish, flounder, crab meat and shrimp we would catch. So I ate seafood all the time.

Luckily I never grew tired of fishing or seafood. Fishing is my number 1 hobby and fortunately the wife has learned to love it as much as I.

There is still nothing better than fish a few hours out of the water.

[PhylliPretzel]

14. Bone to pick with "But mom didn't work"

This feminist. who is a retired teacher, now a widow, and mother of two grown daughters, believes you meant to add "outside the home for a salary."
I'll bet your mom worked from dawn to dark caring for her family; if your family had to hire help to provide the services your mother did, you couldn't have afforded those services.

[ShazzieB]

22. Very true.

I'm old enough to have grown up in a time when very few married women worked a job outside their homes. If someone did, though, the term was "worked," not "worked for a paycheck" or "worked outside the home." I think it's human nature to shorten and abbreviate, but in this case, it really does give the wrong impression.

[RegularJam]

16. Very nice lineup of seafood.

Exact same things I bring home. I often target snook but always let them go. In this area we call sea trout by a different name, speckled trout. At least I think we are talking about the same fish. I will say flounder aren’t around in this area like they once were. In the 80’s we would catch doormat flounder. Now any flounder is hard to come by. I also luck into the occasional cobia or grouper.

[KatyaR]

11. Question--were you in

America's Youth in Concert? I went to UK and Europe with them in the mid 70's.

[MineralMan]

29. No. This was a local vocal arts ensemble.

They had the trip planned, and almost booked. Then, I suggested maybe they should take an orchestra with them. I happened to be playing oboe in a pickup orchestra for one of their concerts at the time, and had played with them for the "Messiah" for several years.

I guess the idea seemed like a good one, so the orchestra came along and they changed the concert program. 12 concerts in 14 days, and in six countries. We rode in two tour buses. It was a fun trip and we got to play in several big cathedrals and concert halls. Got good audiences, too.

Not amateur hour, either. The vocal arts ensemble had a strong national reputation. The orchestra was made up mainly of professional musicians, or semi-pros like me.

Good trip.

[cayugafalls]

12. Traditionally fishing and hunting as a sport was relegated to the upper class.

The poor and worker class never had the luxury of fishing/hunting for sport, it was always about the table.

Some people need to learn by seeing poverty, others are poor and know all to well.

If we could just pop the bubble that the affluent live in once and for all.

[malaise]

13. We see kids fishing for food a lot

here in Jamaica. Indeed they banned them from fishing at the city reservoir because one of them fell in and almost drowned.

[ripcord]

15. We don't do much fishing out here in the desert

But many people add to their food budget by hunting, we have chukar and quail but the big freezer filler is wild hog since they are large and they are an invasive species there is no limit on how many you can take.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

17. As a kid,

myself, brothers and dad would hunt deer, chukar, quail, etc. to feed the family during hard times.

Fond memories of days gone bye.

[Delmette2.0]

19. My grandfather fished almost all his life.

Andrew was born and raised in Norway and i think his love of the mountains helped him to love Montana.

I have home movies that have him and several of his adult children enjoying a day of fishing with his grandchildren.

I never participated in the fishing part of those outings. I am totally, happily surprised that my youngest son loves to fish. He is learning from friends. He hasn't brought home a fish to Mom, yet.

[NNadir]

20. My father used to fish for food.

It was when he was a boy in Brooklyn during the depression. He'd take subways and buses to Sheepshead Bay/Coney Island.

Apparently he was good at it, and actually learned to love fishing. I guess he got lots of praise from my grandmother when the family had something to eat.

Apparently he fantasized about fishing with a future son, who would turn out to be me.

It was so important to him that he was really wound up when he took me with him when I was 5 or 6.

As a result, I hate fishing, although I loved my father very much and forced myself to go with him on Father's Day or his birthday.

[FailureToCommunicate]

21. That kid fishing the Thames in the '80s might have been better off "opening a tin" since

whatever fish he brought home might be be pretty sketchy to eat.

Around us, in Boston, some rivers have "Don't eat the fish" in several languages, including Vietnamese, and Portuguese. The polution legacy of tanning factories, etc from ages past.

[jpak]

23. We would catch trout for breakfast

When I was a lad.

We got up just before dawn to fish in the brook behind the house.

When we got home Mom would fry the fish and make us a bowl of cornmeal mush.

When we caught a bunch of hornpout (catfish) she would make a pile of hush puppies.

Yum

Yup

[Tikki]

24. I have fished off the pier into the Pacific for years...

I love it.

But you are correct; many people and families fish for food on the table.
Pier fishing is free for all ages fishing off California State and some Community Piers.
And yes, when anyone catches what they want or need everyone on the pier rejoices.

Tikki

[MineralMan]

30. I love pier fishing. I did it a lot when I lived in California.

Here's it's docks. However, there is an amazing fishing dock in St. Paul on the Mississippi. Few people fish there, but the chances of catching a big one are good. My best was a 35 pound channel catfish. Huge carp, too, along with walleye and many other species.

I used to fish there frequently in the summer. Tourists would come out on the dock and would always stop and ask me questions about what you could catch in the middle of the city. Generally, about the time they'd ask, I'd hook something and get to show it to them and give them a little naturalist description of what it was, what it ate, etc. Then, I'd release it, as usual.

My favorite tourist story involved a family from Ireland who came out on the dock while exploring St. Paul. Three stairstep children, all gingers. Naturally, I caught a big carp, about 30" long, so I asked the roughly 12-year-old girl to help me net the fish with my big net. She did a good job of it, too, and was so excited. I gave my little nature talk, too, and let the kids touch the fish, etc. When they left, the Dad said, "Thank you so much for providing such an entertaining time for my children."

[Historic NY]

25. I've seen a mother and young daughter park and quickly go to a place along the Hudson River...

to try and catch a fish, stripers are all over the place. Not the usual combination fishing from an obscure section of the river. Most are out in there fishing boats.

[Layzeebeaver]

26. my grandmother had me in the river when I was 3...

...with a spinning rod.

At 4 I was in waders with a fly rod and a hand tied fly.

At 5 my grandfather taught me to shoot a .22 class long rifle.

It's the fishing that I will keep with me - along with her 1920's gear.

Thankfully, it has not needed to be a means of my subsistence.

[MineralMan]

31. Too cool!

[spanone]

27. I took my kids fishing when they were young...they loved it.

We always put the fish back.

[BGBD]

28. Hunting too

Many states have programs like this one as well.

https://www.wvdnr.gov/Hunting/HHH.shtm

[lookyhereyou]

32. good threads on fishing

and kids learning and eating and this is why pollution really matters.

[Retired Engineer Bob]

33. Indeed

It’s a good way to get children to appreciate a clean environment. Getting kids outdoors and exposing them to nature is important.

My dad’s conservation club would occasionally do volunteer work for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. One project was to convince folks that their lakeside homes/cabins needed to be on a sewer system or have holding tanks. They would pour purple dye into their toilet, flush, and go out by the pier. Within 15-20 minutes, they could see the dye seeping into the lake. Occasionally there would be kids swimming nearby. It was pretty convincing.