Daughter graduated last week. Son was playing baseball all spring. Lots of other stuff keeping us busy. I haven't been fishing once this year. THAT sucks. Hopefully soon......

But it's gonna be a hectic summer too. Got a couple of camps for the kids, going to Florida in July, home 3 days and then going on a desert bighorn sheep hunt. Then 2-a-days start for my boy in August. CRAZY

I wonder if I still remember how to cast a fly.

You make me not want to have kids.

That would be tough, but you've got your whole life to fish. Kids grow up fast. You won't regret being there for them.

I find it helpful to everyonce in awhile blow off all responsibilities and go fishing....turns out I am much better with my responsibilities afterwards....

You just be the beast dad you can. They will be grown and gone. Then you'll wish they would make time for you.

Yep. No regrets at all. Doing stuff with my kids is better than fishing (and fishing is AWESOME). Fishing with my kids is about as good as it gets, but we just haven't had time this spring.

There will be time for that later. Gonna make time for at least a day or two of fishing here and there this summer.

Before I had kids, I fished 4-7 days per week almost every week outside of deer season. That was fun. But raising kids is even more fun. HARD work, but what a blessing.

Life is one long series of compromises. Adding a munchkin to that list will shake up what you once prioritized as important. It's not worse, it's just different and you won't really understand that until you have progeny of your own. That doesn't mean that those of us with offspring are smarter or better, just that we might have someone around when we're old and gray(er) that won't automatically throw us in the old person version of an animal shelter.

My daughter having an event on the weekend will almost guarantee that the weather will be perfect for fishing. That being said, parenthood is primarily about sacrifice. It's paying forward your parents, society, and your kids for the same sacrifices your parents made for you. It's worth it. Every second of it.

All that being said, enjoy the time before you have kids. They don't put this in the brochure, but the biggest sacrifice you'll make for them is time. That's also what you'll have the least of when they arrive. Regardless of what the Rolling Stones told you, time ain't on your side...no it isn't.

I was in every activity possible in school both academic an athletic. I still managed to fish or hunt five days a week. I am 33 now and still fish or hunt(mostly fish) two or three days a week and it still dosnt seem like enough lol. I have nightmares of having a kid and them growing up hating hunting an fishing. I guess ill give it a go one day but I am going to start them in dippers fishing so they just don't know any better. I have an old pic sitting in grandpas lap with a cane pole in dippers as I got older every thing I did came second to the outdoors. Good luck getting on te water more.

Oh, we hunt and fish a lot. Always have. Making memories with the kids is the best thing ever - especially outdoors. This spring has just been crazy, and we haven't had a chance to get out yet.

I swear, it's like there's a photographer in the family or something.

Just a few memories of times outdoors with the kids. My son just finished his freshman year in high school. HS sports and everything else keep us pretty involved in other fun things outdoors a lot of the time, but it does eat into hunting and fishing time. Friday night football games makes it harder to get in a full weekend of deer hunting in the fall. Baseball in the spring takes a lot of fishing time away too. But it's all just as much fun. There's nothing better to me than doing stuff with my kids. Whatever the "stuff" is, it's fun with them.


















But even with all the hectic teenager schedules, we still find time to get out in the woods every now and then....




Raising kids is a LOT of fun. It's a LOT of work, and it takes a LOT of time. But it is an incredible blessing. They're young for such a short time. You gotta make the most of every moment with them. The fish and the deer will still be there when the kids are grown, so if I don't catch as many fish or kill as many deer for a few years, that's cool. I enjoy watching the kids hunt and fish and do all the other stuff they enjoy, so I'm not missing out on anything.

I'm hoping that they'll remember all of that one of these days when I'm old and I need somebody to drag me out in the woods every now and then.

Oh, don't get me started. I could crash the server.

I don't have many pics from my childhood sports and hunting and stuff. We never really thought about it that much back then, I guess. But now I wish I had pics to relive the memories with. I've tried to make sure I take plenty of pics of my kids.

This thread gave me an excuse to dig up a bunch of them and relive a few memories. That's fun stuff.

Great pics an family right there!

had lunch with your dad this week. He has been through a lot but looked well; tough old fart. Great pics you posted. My daughter is 10000 miles away so seeing your kids as much as you can while you can is important.