Eventually, as we gained skill and the afternoon shadows increased on the water that day, the event of a lifetime would take place. A martyr of a fish would finally take the nightcrawler our father had rigged, pull a bobber under and fight against the pull of a child in a vain attempt to avoid becoming the greatest fish ever caught. It was a triumph. Sadly, this rite of initiation into a fisherman's life isn't as common as it used to be. Fewer adults are taking their kids fishing these days, according to state research which shows fewer adults are going fishing altogether.
Adults have no time, they say.
They'd like to fish more, according to surveys, if only there were time. Fewer adults fishing means fewer kids learning to fish from their parents. Apparently, we've become a nation too hurried, too distracted and too busy to bother with certain rewarding rites of parent-child life. Which is a shame. Every kid deserves a chance to have his or her snapshot taken with a trophy fish.