My life fishing with my dad, addiction acquired, advice not required (but welcome)

[thyer]

Growing up in NJ my memories of fishing were about asking my dad to go fishing which he never said no to. Waking up very early, which now I understand was a huge thing to ask of him in order to get out there and fish for the pure excitement of hooking something in that very moment of time as a child. I now realize as an adult and possibly a parent, which I have yet to experience children of my own, you have many other responsibilities and hours of driving/ fishing sometimes doesn't fit into the busy schedule of adult life. Most of my memories are good but there was a time when my fathers temper and frustration for the little things like line snags, bottom snags, wind knots, litter bugs (which I can't tolerate today), etc, turned me off for the sport of fishing. College came along and fishing was a distant memory. I moved out of state for work and still had no interest in fishing until one day, 6 years later, my sister asked me to help her move and her fiancee offered me a tackle box and fishing pole that he didn't want. With that I go out and buy a kayak which renews my interest in fishing and brings it to a whole new level. I rediscover why I enjoyed fishing as a child and realize what I had missed out on fishing from the shore with my dad. Kayak is stealthy and portable and you catch more fish. Now before I moved away my father bought a canoe which didn't see much water because I was in school and he couldn't lift it himself without me around. After 10 years away I move back to NJ to see the canoe still sitting in my father's backyard aged from sun and not water. I'm now 4 years back in NJ, he just sold the canoe which made me think that maybe I should have made a better effort to go fishing with him beforehand. I fish now in ways that my father can't do, single person kayak, float tube, wading is even questionable, even sitting in a small inflatable dingy may not work for him but I still wonder what I can do to enjoy the fishing experience I had when I was a child with him as payback. Short of going out on the bigger lakes on my sisters fiancee boat in NJ which brings stress onto itself what can I do to experience the calm fishing experience that I enjoy today? I want to bring him out and want him to enjoy the calm relaxing fishing experience I have learned to enjoy before we can't. Almost like reversing roles, me as the teacher, him as the student. I was thinking a Canada lodge excursion with boats or something with amenities that someone in there 70's can do physically but looking for thoughts and ideas.

Thanks for reading.