Young angler gets to fish with a Pro

My nephew who turned 13 a few weeks ago was fishing in a junior tournament this week. There were 60 kids competing and for the event 2 of them were randomly assigned to fish in a pro’s boat for six hours.

My nephew is a high energy kid who loves to fish. Takes it very seriously and consumes every bit of information available to become a better angler. So when he is in a boat with a pro who is supposed to coach him, I can only imagine he asked a lot of questions. Also for him, I am sure it was the thrill of a lifetime to spend time on the water being mentored by a pro.

Unfortunately, he was assigned to the wrong pro. During the trip the “coach” announced to the other boy that my nephew was the worst angler he had ever had in his boat.

Later when a lure was hung up in shallow water, my nephew offered to hop out of the boat and get it. The “coach” said “I wish you would get out of my boat”.

Again later my nephew observed that fish appeared to be biting deeper and asked if they should be moving into deeper water too. The “coach” replied “that is the first smart thing you’ve said all day”.

So the trip of a lifetime turned into 6 hour of pain. I am frustrated, angry, hurt on may levels. As a fisherman who hopes kids get to know and enjoy hunting and fishing…. As an uncle who is not happy that an adult in a position to be a hero was instead mean to a young fan.

I get that sometimes personalities don’t click. But I expect the adult Pro to be above belittling a young boy. I would assume his sponsors make the same assumption.

I would definitely contact this guy’s sponsors. What a d bag.

targaman’s right. Contact them and the organizer’s of the tournament. And if you have the name of the pro hopefully you have a business card or he has a website; contact him and let him know your displeasure and ask him why he, as a guy who makes money doing what most of us do as a hobby, felt the need to take a bad day or bad attitude out on a 13-year old kid.

There’s 2 sides to every story.

It’s a “teachable moment”. You can point out that this guy is a great example of how NOT to treat people. Guys like that pay a price for their actions and attitude. And it’s inevitable that you’re going to run into jerks, one of the things you have to learn in life is how to deal with them.

It’s a shame this had to happen to your nephew. I hope he has some great experiences yet this summer to help erase this bad memory.

SR

My son also fish with a pro several years ago and about the same attitude. All he wanted was to have my son sit there and watch him. He was from the Chicago area and never fish the Mississippi River and would not lesson to my son which had some knowledge of fishing area’s. Needless, it was also a long day for him. It put a sour end to his tournament try’s.

Hope your nephew continues to fish tournaments. Good to him!!!!

That’s horrible. I’d definitely tell this to the tournament directors. I am sure they do it to promote the sport and make their tournament look good.

This is not a good look.

Too bad this happened but it’s also a great teaching moment for your nephew.

He’ll remember how it felt to be treated poorly and will know that’s not how he would ever want anyone to feel. I’m a believer that these moments can guide actions in the future.

Again, too bad but best to try and make the best of it.

I have had something similar happen to me a couple of times when I was younger and it wasnt any fun at all.
I can tell you that it gave me the determination to be better than ‘that guy’ and beat him at his own game later in life.

it would be funny to see the kid whip the snot out of that guy in a tournament!
I would even chip in a few bucks to sponsor him!

nhamm wrote:

There’s 2 sides to every story.

Figured….typical

Damm low ,making a child feel bad!

eyeguy507 wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>nhamm wrote:</div>
There’s 2 sides to every story.

Figured….typical

Not sure how much experience you’ve had with children events and athletic programs but the majority of horror stories initially claimed, then once found all the facts come out turn out to be very little.

Maybe it was like OP stated, maybe not, I’m not gonna curse the man instantly who took time out of his schedule to take a kid fishing.

nhamm wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>eyeguy507 wrote:</div>

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>nhamm wrote:</div>
There’s 2 sides to every story.

Figured….typical

Not sure how much experience you’ve had with children events and athletic programs but the majority of horror stories initially claimed, then once found all the facts come out turn out to be very little.

Maybe it was like OP stated, maybe not, I’m not gonna curse the man instantly who took time out of his schedule to take a kid fishing.

I’ve got a fair amount of experience working with children’s events. 11 years volunteer youth coach.

Curious if you know something that I should know or if you’re just naturally skeptical.

As far as bashing an individual, I have purposely not given their name.

Finally before you give props to someone for volunteering their time, I’m pretty sure this is a Pro fulfilling an obligation to their sponsors.

Two sides to every story ? That’s a laugh . No excuse to treat a child that way idk who the heck you are

ptc wrote:

Finally before you give props to someone for volunteering their time, I’m pretty sure this is a Pro fulfilling an obligation to their sponsors.

You probably are 100% correct with that statement……..still no excuse whatsoever.

Morel King wrote:

Two sides to every story ? That’s a laugh . No excuse to treat a child that way idk who the heck you are

The resident ido know it all

Simple mind, simply confused.

I wasn’t there but if even 1 side of the story is half true, it sure paints a bad picture of the guy. I really feel sorry that he had to take 6 hours away from his busy schedule….laughable! If true the guy is a real POS so feel free to post his name. Maybe then Nhamm can get his side of the story. Too bad your nephew had to be apart of such a negative situation.

What a piece of work anyone who would treat a kid like that is no Pro he is a piece of crap! I would definitely email the organizer’s of the tournament a link to this thread and to his sponsors.

My nephew is a high energy kid who loves to fish.

Not saying what the pro did was right, just when I read this line I immediately thought of Mike Iaconelli and John Gillespie. Not everyone could handle fishing with those guys either.

Lets look at it from the Pro’s point of view. He likely was expecting a co who knew how to fish and knew the lake. Maybe even counting on the co to put the fish in the boat. He then draws a kid who it turns out also knows more about fishing then he does. Extreme embarrassment. Now he is faced with admitting that the kid knows more or he turns into a a-hole the rest of the day. His entry fee, his choice.

Now the flip side. I’m sure the kid remembers the guys name. Who his sponsors are and who he talked to with the tournament. I quick note copied to all of them relating his experience for the day is justified. I would encourage him to list all the positives and negatives of the day. Be truthful and complete. Nobody can correct a problem until they know of the problem. The sponsor letter should be addressed to both the public relations and marketing side of the sponsors.

The kid needs to realize not all people are thrilled to fish with a kid. Hard to believe but it’s true. Life will toss him a few tougher knocks as he grows up but how he handles this one will go along way towards making the rest easier.

Just because I am curious, is part of the high school fishing teams where they need boats/captain of the boat for the team?

I’ve done volunteer work thru one of our high school’s Outdoor Biology classes and can offer that there can be truly gifted kids that can fish like a pro but they are a rarity. The run-of-the-mill kid at 13 is probably going to need some help to stay remotely abreast a professional angler. Suggestions and a few seconds of “hands-on” go miles with the average kid. A “seasoned pro” who is belittling in front of the kid’s peer and who has nothing but sarcasm for this boy in question should not be involved in any tournament activity at this level. Period. The pro knows what he has signed onto and knows ahead of time that he may end up with some challenges to help make the kid’s day in the boat with him a learn and fun experience.

I’d suggest chopping up his tourney card for a couple years and maybe require him to spend a few days working with children “gifted” in the other direction.

The only difference between a “Pro” and someone going fishing…a $250 entry fee

What youth tournament sends kids out with people they don’t know? Was it the one on Trout?