Well I'm headed out that way again on April 10th this coming saturday. which is also my 27th birthday. My dad, wife, and mother have decided they wanna see what all the hoopla regarding our hobby is about! I am targeting only 3 species when i go. Logperch, greensides, and red-sided dace. Its gonna be a rather quick trip for me. ill be out there around 12pm and fish for 3 or 4 hours. maybe ill get there closer to 11. so if anyone wants to meet me out there that would be great to have some other people that actually have a clue!!!

Edited by bumpylemon, 07 April 2010 - 07:22 PM.

Well I'm headed out that way again on April 10th this coming saturday. which is also my 27th birthday. My dad, wife, and mother have decided they wanna see what all the hoopla regarding our hobby is about! I am targeting only 3 species when i go. Logperch, greensides, and red-sided dace. Its gonna be a rather quick trip for me. ill be out there around 12pm and fish for 3 or 4 hours.

Hints:

* On expedition #1, do NOT take wife to anywhere that has 2-foot deep muck. Stable, sure-footed bottom is highly recommended. (Been There, Done That, So You Don't Need To. Just a part of my service to the hobby.)

* 3 hrs collecting is a lot for newcomers, unless they REALLY get into it. On this expedition, think of yourself as a paid guide, hired to make sure the guests have good time. If you want a second family expedition, don't keep them on-site past the point they start to lose interest. YOU can always come back some other time. But you'll be a solo act if they don't enjoy the experience the first time.

* pretty & interesting fish are a big help. Your species list is good. Logperches ought to be stars in your show, most people have no idea there are fish like that right there in river city.

* Don't know what you use for "a collecting jar," but be sure to have a clear pretzel jar or something similar, so they can all get real good sideways views of what you're catching. A top-down view into a cooler doesn't have the same pizazz.

* a picnic lunch is a cunning way to give them something to do while you spend a little more time with your feet wet.

* a seine is a good group intro, since people who might not want to jump in the water right away can still be intrigued (and irresistibly sucked in) by the "what did we get this time?" examination of the seine haul, on the shore.

Gotta love missionary work ! Good luck with it.

d.d.
--------------------------------------------
Give a man a fish, and he'll probably eat it.
TEACH a man to catch a fish, and
[Irate Mormon will fill in the blank here.]

haha that was a great read!! although they sort of know what they are getting into. my moms a marine biologist so she did all this stuff for grad work. my dad is a big fisherman of game fish and has 2 salt water aquariums. my wife ive brought with me before around my area but the fish in mass are dull. i wanted them to see why i make the 3 hour car ride to NY. ill be bringing my seine. im hoping keepnatives can come out for a lil bit although he said he was busy. so all in all the people coming arent new to this. they have been through my journey over the last year and have seen the fish ive collected from here to virginia. im hoping they will actually help me to catch fish!! my wife already said "im not going in the water if its 50 degrees out" haha. oh well.

Doug is right. You're also lucky that you're unlikely to encounter poisonous snakes in NY. My wife is still recovering from almost stepping on cottonmouths in the Okefenokee (that just doesn't happen in New Hampshire...).

Doug is right. You're also lucky that you're unlikely to encounter poisonous snakes in NY. My wife is still recovering from almost stepping on cottonmouths in the Okefenokee (that just doesn't happen in New Hampshire...).

haha although we did seine a beaver last summer in one spot we will be going too!

Doug is right. You're also lucky that you're unlikely to encounter poisonous snakes in NY. My wife is still recovering from almost stepping on cottonmouths in the Okefenokee (that just doesn't happen in New Hampshire...).

I have to agree with Doug and Fundulus. The first spouse, friend or relative outing is one you have to think carefully about. On my wife's first excursion I thought it would be funny to give her the leaky waders. When she said something felt wet I told her that's just the feel of the neopreme. Oddly she didn't find that amusing as she got into deeper water and it became clear it was water. I suppose it could have been that her pregnancy had dulled her sense of humor. And when I steered my second cousin into the small 3 foot deep hole while I stood in the 2 foot main depth he didn't respond with the same glee that I did. Although since he was barely 5 feet tall perhaps I just missed his response in those few moments he was submerged. Neither goes in the water with me anymore!