Positive approach essential in fishing and all sports

There are many things that a person needs to do in any sport if that person is going to succeed. The first thing that comes to my mind is for the beginner to have a good teacher. A good coach is the only answer when it comes to a star in any sport whether it be single or team sport.

You can learn in many ways but all of us need the "old pro" teach us the finer things of our chosen sport. The adage that practice makes perfect is not entirely true. Better wording would be CORRECT PRACTICE WILL IMPROVE.

The worst thing that a beginner in any sport can do is practice bad techniques. In teaching swimming, golf, football, baseball and other sports the hardest thing for me to do was to TRY to break the student from old bad habits. If your child is a budding athlete in any sport let the trained instructor teach and you the parent act as a strong and loving supporter.

See that your child has the correct equipment for the sport. Going rabbit hunting with an elephant or elephant hunting with a B.B. gun, no-no.

Many people go to the lake hoping that some type of fish will it his offering that is dangled before it. This may work on occasion but the "lucky" fellow is the one who has planned long before he ever sets foot in a boat or on a bank.

There are two things that a person who wants to learn to fish should do. The first would be to find a good teacher and the second is to get properly rigged to get after my finny friend. Let's assume that we plan on starting our wife or a child or a close friend. The most logical place to start is safety. A person should know how to swim and if not the neophyte should be taught.

A person who is taught proper swimming finds that is possible to float for hours as long as He Does Not Panic. Panic drowns people not exhaustion.

Boating safety is a must for beginners. Wearing a Coast Guard approved life jacket is an absolute must for every one every trip. Where to sit while the boat is running, when you

may stand, never hang an arm or leg outside the boat while running. Do not grab onto a tree limb or bush unless the boat operator asked you to for a purpose.

A Life Jacket for Each Boater Should Be One That Properly Fits and not a hand-down from an adult. Properly fitted safety devises makes a trip much safer.

I am a firm believer in individual sports for several reasons but the main one is that you can continue your chosen sport for your entire life. The two best known could be golf and fishing. I am eighty six years old and still play golf (not very well) and fish (when someone volunteers to take me). My football, basketball, baseball and other team sports ended long ago.

When starting someone in the fishing world you should insist on that person getting good equipment and not Mickey Mouse stuff. A good rod and a good reel are a must. I would suggest a closed faced spinning reel which can be purchased for fewer than 20 bucks and a good line that should be keyed to the fish sought.

Teaching a person to cast is simple but takes both patience and time. A person should be seated in a chair with arms on it. The elbow should remain in contact with the arm of the chair when the cast is made. This exercise leads to the proper technique of arm casting by using a wrist movement. Most beginners try to chunk a lure a country mile and wind up with a backlash which is a bad way to start.

Picking a target a few feet away and gently casting is the only way to go. Move the target one way or another and increase the distance after improving. Hitting a spot is much more important than distance thrown. Lay it on them.

Golf should start off with a proper golf grip. Few beginners like the grip especially if they have gripped a baseball bat. Makes no never mind the neophyte must learn to use the golf grip. After he masters the grip I would start on the proper stance.

During these early lessons I would point out, several times, the layout of golf courses. Par golf is perfect golf and each hole has a definite number of shots and these shots are called par. I will point out time and again that each green has TWO puts to get the ball in the cup. Adding the puts that are given for each hole it sums up at to emphasize that the 36 puts are half of the day's shots if you play perfect golf. If putting is half the strokes needed why do 95 percent of the golfers, old and new, spend 95 percent of their time hitting with a wood? Should spend half of your time Putting. Put, Put, Put.

Hitting the ball 300 yards is great if it is the exact direction that you are aiming for. If the ball goes a hundred yards in the desired direction then veers sharply to right or left then we have a problem. The thing to work on here is not distance but line accuracy. A good instructor can help you correct this. A novice needs some excellent advice for all his early golf days.

Buckle Up, Drive With Care, Put On A Life Jacket And I'll See You On The Lake.