Long story...stay with me... So 2 years ago my middle daughter got a nice big 3 room tent for her birthday. Her birthday is today. 2 years later that tent is still in the box. So I decided to do something about that. To my wife, camping requires a trailer with a bathroom and air conditioning. I remember going camping when I was young with almost nothing. A case of beer and a dozen eggs was enough to call it a camping trip. Fast forward to today, I rented a site at Lavon so we can camp on the lake shore. I bought hot dogs hershey bars, marshmallows and graham crackers, loaded up some fire wood and we are ready to go. Wyatt is beside himself with excitement. When he woke up this morning, he asked if it was time to go. When I told him not yet, he got mad at me. He and his mom and his brother and sister are all going camping overnight at the lake. (say a prayer for his mom and I, the kids are 8, 4 and 1). I rented a site where I can beach the boat and soak baits all night in a cove where I have seen a lot of good marks in the past so I'm hoping for some action in the dark. We will record the events as they unfold and I will have a full report Saturday after we get back. Chris, I blame you for this. All your talk about hunting flatheads at night made me think of this. Stay tuned...God Bless and Tight Lines...

Looking forward to hearing how it all went. Have a great time!

My wife is the same way Tim. I practically lived in a tent when I was a kid but my wife requires shower and bed so the last 13 yrs it’s been mostly cabins for us with 1 tent trip per year . We were going to camp next weekend when wife left town but Jaxon asked if I would build him a fort on the boat so we could sleep on the water. I will probably regret agreeing but it should make for a good adventure so we’re sleeping on the boat next weekend. I cancelled our campsite.

It’s a feather in my cap to hear that I helped influence you into planning a kids adventure trip Tim! Operation take a kid fishing is underway! My Mission is accomplished Amigo! They are a pain in the tail but also a ton of fun! Big part of why I started posting again several years ago was the pure joy it brings me fishing with my son and wanting to share those experiences with other like minded individuals in hopes that someone might get a little more excited about fishing with kids.. quite a few of my old fishing buddies are hardcore catfisherman but the last 3 years I’ve made some great friendships with guys that fish with kids. You happen to be both which pretty much made us form an instant friendship Tim. I know first hand that fishing with a little guy is very difficult and requires a different level of patience. It can be a real whip dealing with a wild kid like my son but the number of cool experiences we share while fishing is really unparalleled by anything else me and my son do. From the preparation and planning required before hand to the hunting bait to chasing fish. The cycle of life and learning to respect mother nature and to protect what you love. All good lessons for a 4-5 yr old boy to learn. The ups and downs of fishing are a roller coaster of emotions throughout the day. The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat is in constant motion while fishing and getting the chance to experience that so often with my boy has built an unbelievable bond. Get out there and make those memories! Those kids will never forget it!

Chris, I've said it before and I'll say it again here. You're a role model. I am in a unique position. My daughter is a single mom. I love these kids to pieces and I am not only their grandfather, I am filling in as their father. The POS sperm donors out there today just get girls pregnant with no regard for the life they create. These kids deserve better. For my part, they will have the childhood they deserve. None of them know they are missing anything. It will be that way to my last breath. I am blessed to have them. In some ways, I get to make up for the mistakes I made with my kids by helping my daughter raise hers. I am almost as excited about this weekend as Wyatt is. Thanks for the motivation...this forum is a blessing. Happy to have found you here and happy to call you my very good friend...

Wyatt is a lucky Kid to have you to share with him your experience and our fishing way of life Tim. Your pretty much his dad now and you have a ton more experience in life at this stage then you did when you were young. It’s not only a blessing for Wyatt but you as well. I’m the oldest Dad out of all of Jaxon’s peers and I always thought having a kid was going to get in the way of doing what I wanted to do. I couldn’t imagine trying to raise a kid like Jaxon when I was a young man so it’s a good thing I waited . I would have had a clue how to raise him and I would have screwed him up for sure. Now that I’m in my 40s I know exactly how I want to raise my son and I’m a much better person at 47 than I was at 27. Much respect my friend!

There is only 1 way your going to get to see your 5 yr old boy eat Shad eyeball for lunch....


Take em fishing!




Yum! Shad eyeballs!



Now that’s a catfisherman ladies and gentleman! Man I Love that boy!

Man I'm telling you, we have got to get Jax and Wy together. Wyatt stuffed a peanut in a shads mouth once "feeding him" When it fell out he picked it up off the floor of the boat and ate it himself... They are cut from the same cloth...

Today is the day! Wyatt is like a bull in the shoot! If I don't let him go soon, he's gonna wreck the place! We are getting loaded up and ready to head out in a couple hours. Thanks for riding along with us y'all...

Wish we were loading up to come meet up with y’all Tim! Go burn some memories into those brains Amigo!

Awesome man, we're overnighting it on Texoma for the weekend, here in two weeks, but going out to see if we can find some elusive flatheads tonight, on the boat.

This should be in my Flathead thread Z. Let us know how it went...

What a blast! I don't know who had more fun me or the kids.

Looks like a great time Tim! 👍🤠👍. Get that boy a bean bag and let him sleep when he gets tired so you can keep on fishing. Jaxon napped half our trips when he was 4. He’s only napped 2 trips since he turned 5 but I still bring it anyways cuz he loves laying in it.