Kids’ behaviors often mimic those of the adults who take them fishing. Knowing that,
we should always strive to influence children in positive ways. (Photo by Jeff Samsel)
The Power of Positive Influence
By Keith “Catfish” Sutton
Wise adults spend time teaching the next generation not just how to catch fish, but also how to respect and protect our waters and woods.
I wasn’t very old, perhaps 10 or 12. My uncle and I were waiting for a catfish to bite. Bored and hungry, I opened a can of Vienna sausages and a sleeve of saltine crackers. Both were soon empty. I sunk the sausage can in the water, then wadded up the cracker sleeve and tossed it in the lake.
My crusty old uncle’s reaction was immediate. He rose from his seat, made his way to my end of the boat, then bent across the gunwale and started probing the water with his sculling paddle. He did not speak as he did this, but I knew from the visceral sounds he made, and his reddened face, he was very upset. A blade of panic pierced my heart.
My uncle soon extracted the can from the water and placed it in the boat. He then returned to his seat, pushed the boat away from the buckbrush and began sculling us toward the wadded-up cracker sack now sailing across the water in the stiff breeze. With the wind behind us, it didn’t take long to reach it. He pulled the johnboat alongside, then nodded for me to retrieve the paper. I did, and we started back.
With the wind now in our faces, it took many minutes—seemingly forever—for my uncle to scull us back to our fishing hole. I sat tensely, waiting for the butt-chewing I thought was imminent. But he never said a word about it.
My uncle knew, I’m sure, words were not necessary. His point had been clearly yet silently communicated. And from that day to this, the power of my uncle’s influence has been there. Never again have I intentionally littered our waters or woods.
Years later, I thought back to that day while fishing with my son Josh. We were anchored in a little cove, catching channel cats for a weekend fish fry. Upwind, across the cove, another man and boy also were fishing. While Josh and I waited for a bite, an empty beer can floated past us, then, in succession, a cigarette butt, a plastic minnow bag, an empty worm box and … a wadded-up cracker sleeve. “Man, why do those guys gotta keep trashing everything up?” Josh asked.
What Josh did next surprised me a little and made me proud. He pushed our boat away from the buckbrush, then sculled us around the cove, picking up the pieces of trash and stuffing them into the empty minnow bag. He then paddled us toward the other boat. The man and boy had watched all this and sat in stunned silence as Josh pulled alongside their craft and handed over the litter.
I sat tensely, waiting for the reaction I thought was imminent. But nobody said a word. The point had been clearly yet silently communicated.
I knew then I had influenced Josh in positive ways, just as my uncle influenced me. And I found comfort in the thought that someday Josh would influence his own children the same way.
We should all remember the strongest influence on angler behavior is influence from parents, relatives and friends. Think about that every time you take a youngster fishing. Ask yourself, how will the things I do today influence the child who is with me? Then act accordingly.
Like it or not, we are all influential, and we should never forget that with influence comes obligation—the obligation to change our children’s lives and behavior in positive ways.
