Growing up...
My father took me fishing early, my first pole was a bamboo fishing pole that came apart. When either of us would catch a fish, usually a Bluegill, Sunfish, or Catfish, he would put the fish in the hood of my jacket, I was a squeemish girl, and I would carry the fish to the bucket and drop it in. I would name them too, my cousins names or something outlandish like Henrietta and Hammerhead Jr. Then when dad would go to scale them, I'd scream " you chopped off Matthew's head!" I wouldn't cry, but I found myself involved that way. One time I caught a catfish and I wanted to keep him as a pet. I did this with most things, frogs, toads, caterpillars, fireflies, a praying mantis ( which are on the verge of extinction today) and stuff like that. Well, like my frogs and toads I saved my catfish until he died. Cooked in the sun in my baby swimming pool in the back yard. ( Dad laughs about this even today)
There's nothing like diggin for your own worms and making homemade pole holders on the bank of your local river or reservoir with your dad. Add mosquito repellant and a latern and you have night fishing too.
In Queensland, Australia, 12 miles off the coast of Point Cartwright... a little ocean fishing.
I sailed out on the ocean with my new dad ( in-law) and husband and caught beautiful ocean fish and believe it or not... a squid! That was one of my life's goals, to catch and eat my fish, that I caught, on the ocean.
My first fish was a Maori Cod, a golden-brown fish with a sharp spike on either side of its head ( near the gills too!). It was a good thing I was with an experienced fisherman, dad ( no offense dear), or I would have been in serious pain.
Dad caught another fish to be aware of, a Happy Moment. They have poisonous bacteria on their fins that give you a very UNhappy moment. But the one dad caught drew the attention of our special visitor, Mr. Squid. After much excitement and tangled fishing lines, a net was brought out and we netted our squid. And I can't forget to mention the ink that came with it.... all over the back of the boat and my husband ( hee hee)!
I've never in my life tried to catch a fish off a beach with waves and seabirds. I'm used to the tranquility of lake fishing that I've done most my life. Beach fishing is another ballgame completely. It takes practice and timing. When a wave comes in, you run out and swing that rod over your shoulder and let go of the line at the same time. ( I said line not POLE!) Wait! You're not done yet, you have to turn around and run back towards the beach before you get knocked down by the next wave. When you get back, you then take your reel and flip the bar over to lock it, put the pole in the rod holder, so conveniently made of PVC pipe and pounded into the sand securely by my husband. Then you watch the tip of your pole as it bounces with the waves, anything that makes the rod bend over is a catch, a fast repetition would be a bite. Meanwhile as you get your iced coffee, meat pie, and a beach chair be sure to glance now and then at your rod. A thick layer of sunscreen is very necessary for fair skinned people like myself as well as a surf hat. The sun in Australia is very strong, they have a high skin cancer rate there and in New Zealand, due to the hole in the ozone and other factors.
Outside your stand board games and playing cards exists the online world of MMORPGs. I play one called Everquest. I play a female elf ranger named Timbur Treekeeper on Rodcet Nife server. I have made several wonderful friends all over the world on "EQ".
GENEALOGY
I love to fill in the gaps in my family tree. Some gaps are easier to fill than others if you know much about genealogy. Native Americans are hard to trace as well as adoptions and such. So, it takes time, but its fun. Here are some sites for you to visit regarding genealogy, whether you're just starting or need to find a census. I have 3 different genealogy programs but I seem to use Family Tree Maker by Broderbund only because I can put in pictures and I have the bells n' whistles figured out.