This is a series written by anglers about why getting young people outdoors & fishing is so important!

Have you ever wondered about the importance of grabbing our youth’s attention of the outdoors, and the sport of fishing in particular, and the role it plays on our lives? Continue reading to learn more about the importance of fishing.

We all know watching your children and the youth of today enjoying fishing and the outdoors is a total win by itself, the look on their faces after they have boarded that first catch, the excitement in their voice, it’s amazing! What we are teaching them today will be passed on tomorrow and for generations to come. Of course, this is a huge importance of how fishing impacts our lives - to share your passion with your children, making memories, story-telling, and all the other great benefits that come along the way is important.

However, I'd like to have my blog dig a little deeper on the other monumental roles fishing plays on not just our lives, but theirs.

Children are naturally curious, the more you expose them to their surroundings, the more they will investigate and learn to enhance critical thinking, social abilities, development of life skills, patience, and more. “Educating and supporting our youth is the best way to invest in a prosperous future.” –John Adriance

Being involved in outdoor sports keeps young people active and engaged, it also boosts self-esteem tremendously! It can encourage a healthier lifestyle altogether and let’s face it, being outdoors fishing beats any day staring at a T.V. or computer screen all day, right? It is a major stress-relief, an outlet of freedom, which helps contribute to their overall health. It is so beneficial to engage youth in outdoor sports like fishing, it gives them an outlet, something to look forward to, something to take focus off of the negative things impacting their day-to-day lives. Fishing also helps with social bonding. Sharing the love for the sport amongst their peers and community. Fishing can also help with self-fulfillment in young adults and children by mastering techniques and building a reputation for their knowledge and abilities.

This is why it's important for us to pass the torch. Additionally, fishing has a huge impact on the environment, resources, and conservations. Just something as simple as purchasing a fishing license helps to fund so many wildlife conservations, contributes to educational programs, helps fund the purchase of public lands for all to enjoy - all the while bringing awareness to the importance of clean water and air. Teaching our youth about the importance of all of this will help with sustainability moving forward.

So if you take anything away from this, pass the love of fishing on... if not for your own enjoyment, do it for them. 

Afterall, there's a reason that the old saying goes “Give someone a fish and feed them for a day, teach them to fish and feed them for a lifetime.” 

Some tips:

• Try to find a way for them to relate to the sport. Share your first catch story with them... what got you excited?
• Get their friends to also want to try fishing. Having their social circles also interested will help keep them engaged and outside.
• Get them the tools they need to not only start fishing, but to furth enjoy it and deepen their passion, and also to help them share their experiences to get more youth involved. There's some amazing social media apps and products out there that can help with all of this. Check out GoFish Cam for example, it's a great tool for them to learn from, relive, and share the exciting underwater experience of fishing.