Is the www killing it for "oldies"?

[big Neil]

So we're headed off to Canberra for Christmas at one of the daughters' places and (naturally) you think about what you can give to the grandkids, who have everything already. Being an old fart and a male (read: devoid of ideas) I thought it would be kinda nice to teach them how to tie various knots, as they all enjoy fishing. So I have flattened the barbs and snipped the points from some hooks, gathered some sinkers and some swivels plus some line and scissors. Now here's the dilemma. They can find any amount of information on this subject on Youtube...may have already done so??? Eons ago the oldies would pass on their life experiences to the younger ones and a "bond of mutual respect was formed". Can't help but feel that this type of teaching /learning is going by the board today. So I'm going to give it a go and will take a rod or two...plenty of Carp in Lake Burley Griffin. Wish me luck. bn

[frankS]

Neil they can look stuff up on the net but nothing beats hand to hand personal tuition, you can see what errors they make ( if any ) and correct them before bad habits find their way into the learning that comes from on screen videos.

Frank

[masterfisho7]

21 minutes ago, frankS said:

Neil they can look stuff up on the net but nothing beats hand to hand personal tuition, you can see what errors they make ( if any ) and correct them before bad habits find their way into the learning that comes from on screen videos.

Frank

Some sound advice there Neil from Frank 

[zmk1962]

Well, I feel WWW is a great reference source if you already have basic practical skills that you can relate the WWW content to ... (which presumes of course that you already have some interest in something practical).  Otherwise WWW is just entertainment - where you are not expected to participate - just sit back and enjoy the experience. 

So the trick for us oldies is to get the young ones engaged, and teach them some practical basic skills - so they can use us oldies, or WWW as resources to build on their interests and practical skills.  

We need to spark their interests and passions - which would then make WWW a tool rather than the end goal. 

Cheers Zoran

Edited December 19, 2018 by zmk1962

[Blackfish]

Personal trainers are the go these days Neil and people pay good money for them though You can WWW all info on exercise.

You can be their fishing personal trainer, plus spending quality time with Family is pretty priceless.

On-ya Neil.

 

[Scratchie]

I learnt a saying a few years ago BN and it’s always stuck with me! It motivates me to take my kids outdoors and spend quality time with them whenever I can. 

Quote: “Kids never remember their best day of television” 

So no matter what type of activity you are sharing with them, they will remember it at some point in their lives! 

Cheers scratchie!!! 

[savit]

Hey BN.  Dont worry about that.

When I landed in AU  - I started learning saltwater fishing stuff from WWW (forums, webpages, videos) as I had no mentor. Soon I find out that my head is overfilled with plenty of relevant and irrelevant information  (there were many more fishing forums than now) while was missing some basic however important stuff. So, I grabbed old fishing books  from local library  and then filled the missing knowledge and made it clear the whole thing in my head.

What I mean - WWW will never be a proper/full substitute for personal experience/personal tuition (and books   ) and they are lucky to have you.

WWW is really good when you know what you want and where to find it, however it is not the best choice in the beginning of learning.

Looking forward to your Carp report.

Andrew.

[Guest Guest123456789]

An old ex pro fisho taught me all I know about blackfishing. I tried (and failed) learning it from the web.

[Koalaboi]

Hi,

As a high school teacher for the last 40 years I can tell you that nothing will replace the wonderful connection you get when you sit down with someone and show them how to do something. It is there, hands on and real.

What makes it so meaningful is the connection you make with the child. You can tell them stories that highlight what your are teaching and give answers to their questions.

Enjoy the trip, the teaching and have fun with your grandkids. You will be giving them lifetime memories.

KB

[kingie chaser]

It helps if they are actually interested in what you are showing them, otherwise everything you are saying will sound like ...bla...bla...bla.

My father used to take me luderick fishing as a kid & showed me all the rigs but I just wasn't interested in it which is why now I cannot set up a luderick rig to save my life.

You can lead a horse to water but you cant make it drink!

[Toilor]

Consider taking some celta type lures and a bucket to keep the redfin alive.  Children want to see a fish in the first 5 to 10 mins and keeping it alive in a bucket will buy you time while u wait for carp. 

[big Neil]

20 minutes ago, Toilor3000 said:

Consider taking some celta type lures and a bucket to keep the redfin alive.  Children want to see a fish in the first 5 to 10 mins and keeping it alive in a bucket will buy you time while u wait for carp. 

Thanks Toilor. You obviously live in the ACT, do you know of an area I could try for Redfin? Cheers, bn

[jeffb5.8]

Hey BN

If you are doing this while sitting at your Daughters with the kids, you may need to make it fun, once they tie the hook have a casting comp or set up items to retrieve with their newly tied blunt hook.

Something on the grass like a cloth, a piece of string and maybe a small bucket, each has more points than the other and its one cast each and rotate through.

My dad set up beer cans (Not quite PC these days) we had a line with a sinker and had a comp to knock over the empty cans, once we were bored out came the BB Gun and we shot the same cans, all good safe fun.

[connico]

Nothing beats spending time and learning from your family.

From personal experience. I mentor a few kids, teens and early adults throughout the year. Mostly boys. The one thing that all of them admit too is not spending enough time with family. I often ask them if they ever tell their family, but most feel its embarrassing.

Kids will whine and whinge about most love spending the time and learning new things

And not many kids looks up Youtube on these life topics

[big Neil]

26 minutes ago, connico said:

Nothing beats spending time and learning from your family.

From personal experience. I mentor a few kids, teens and early adults throughout the year. Mostly boys. The one thing that all of them admit too is not spending enough time with family. I often ask them if they ever tell their family, but most feel its embarrassing.

Kids will whine and whinge about most love spending the time and learning new things

And not many kids looks up Youtube on these life topics

That's interesting (and surprising) Connico. Thanks for sharing mate. bn

 

[big Neil]

56 minutes ago, jeffb5.8 said:

Hey BN

If you are doing this while sitting at your Daughters with the kids, you may need to make it fun, once they tie the hook have a casting comp or set up items to retrieve with their newly tied blunt hook.

Something on the grass like a cloth, a piece of string and maybe a small bucket, each has more points than the other and its one cast each and rotate through.

My dad set up beer cans (Not quite PC these days) we had a line with a sinker and had a comp to knock over the empty cans, once we were bored out came the BB Gun and we shot the same cans, all good safe fun.

Now that sounds like good fun jeff. Will defo give that a go. Cheers, bn

[big Neil]

8 hours ago, flatheadluke said:

An old ex pro fisho taught me all I know about blackfishing. I tried (and failed) learning it from the web.

Thanks Luke. An old pro taught me a few things back in the day, but it never helped my fishing one bit. Cheers mate, bn

[connico]

4 minutes ago, big Neil said:

That's interesting (and surprising) Connico. Thanks for sharing mate. bn

 

I've taken so many teens and there dads fishing and camping and its definitely bought them closer...

Most kids don't get these experiences because their dads didn't have the time, money or knowledge. Mostly knowledge, dads growing up these days didn't get a chance because of the same thing.

Teens and even young adults are most amazed when I teach them the basics of tying knots  and lighting fires. Like how to properly structure camp fire and how to get it to burn hot and smoke free....

[DerekD]

Hi @big Neil,

An interesting topic you have raised and I have enjoyed reading the follow up conversations.

When it comes to fishing I talk to a lot of people from beginners to experts in their field. I have had a few fishing friendships start with my opening line of "Can I make a suggestion...". Some of these people have spent a fair time on the internet learning new techniques and I am impressed at what they have learned and I suspect the person that put together the original how to video did an excellent job.

What I have also found is that the WWW is the communication is often too one way (even if you contact the poster for additional information). You have seen my teaching style in action. While I could put a lot of it on video and help people get 80 to 90% of the way it would miss the little corrections I would make to compensate for people's learning style or background experience.

The huge thing that is missing from WWW is the positive feedback loop. It is a great feeling to achieve what your mentor has been trying to help you learn and know that you have reached a standard they are happy with.

The other thing to think about is that the beginner often doesn't know enough about the topic in question to start asking the right questions.

Hope you have a great time with the grandkids and a lovely Christmas break.

Regards,

Derek

Edited December 21, 2018 by DerekD

[Kevwing]

I think the WWW is very limited in information to be quite honest.

The problem with fishing and targetting is that every location is always different. 

The most the WWW can do is help identify techniques, teach bare bones basics and keep up to date with the trends.

As long as someone has the basics of targeting one type of fish, the rest will be up to them to see the habits of the fish in those areas.

Hence, nothing beats someone actually showing you how to target a fish in a specific areas because that knowledge is only passed down from locals. 

I mean a good example is, using weed to catch bream. We know it is all possible

BUT I have never ever ever ever had luck catching bream on weed in Sydney

However, going up the coast. I have caught bream on weed on multiple occasions. 

Same goes with tides, some spots lower tide works better for different fish. 

 

[Toilor]

5 hours ago, big Neil said:

Thanks Toilor. You obviously live in the ACT, do you know of an area I could try for Redfin? Cheers, bn

I lived in CBR until 12 months ago mate now I'm in Jervis Bay, back for chrissie though, watch out trout!! Behind the museum and Black mountain peninsula are Reddie hot spots. Keep moving until you find a school. I use no. 3 sized celta type (dont buy celta as they do not spin since being made in Thailand not france) with red best. Also consider Kambah Pool or Urriarra on the 'bidgee, plenty of shrimp for the bucket and loads of carp plus yellas and cod

[nutsaboutfishing]

On 12/20/2018 at 8:11 AM, big Neil said:

So we're headed off to Canberra for Christmas at one of the daughters' places and (naturally) you think about what you can give to the grandkids, who have everything already. Being an old fart and a male (read: devoid of ideas) I thought it would be kinda nice to teach them how to tie various knots, as they all enjoy fishing. So I have flattened the barbs and snipped the points from some hooks, gathered some sinkers and some swivels plus some line and scissors. Now here's the dilemma. They can find any amount of information on this subject on Youtube...may have already done so??? Eons ago the oldies would pass on their life experiences to the younger ones and a "bond of mutual respect was formed". Can't help but feel that this type of teaching /learning is going by the board today. So I'm going to give it a go and will take a rod or two...plenty of Carp in Lake Burley Griffin. Wish me luck. bn

Dear Old Fart,

                        I found the WWW web very confusing for the reason there are so many minor variants of many knots. If you look up FG or Albright there's about half a dozen slightly different variations and you doubt yourself whether or not you've chosen the best variant.

                         I wish I had a dad or grand dad who showed me his way to do the knots.

from

Old Fart

[mrsswordfisherman]

Neil a very good post. 

I can only tell you that dealing with 1000’s of raiders over the years that the one on one tuition is THE best. 

The views and searches on various instructional things is huge. Almost 24 hours a day visitors and members are researching and getting information from this forum. It isn’t just fishing reports here it is information about all aspects of fishing and boating as you know. 

Now if I organised a Soft Plastic fishing workshop or a casting pactice day or a knot tying session there would be at least 100 people turn up. Have a look at how well attended these events were in the past in our Social Events section. 

Lastly we have always encouraged raiders to help others and that is why we have a Mentor badge

So Neil go ahead and teach those kids some knots. Will be looking forward to your report on how it went

[Fab1]

Great post mate.I wonder if i can pretend to be a young kid and get Yowie to teach me how to catch fish in the hacking?Im fine learning the basics of catching keeper Jew with handlines like he does then moving into undersized bream and snapper from there.lol.

[blaxland]

Experience is gold I recently took a work mate out fishing who had just got his diploma and will be a chiropractor. On the way out he was telling me about the research he had done and his confidence in catching fish. But he couldnt tie a paternoster and was disappointed that his lure didnt work in a bust up (kings and salmon on the surface) He did eventually get some fish in the boat.  Fishing with experienced fishos is the best wish I could do it more