Sportsman’s Show Provides Great Father and Son One on One Time – Brian’s Blog

My eight-year old son and I took in the Central Washington Sportsman's Show Sunday, and it was definitely time well spent.

Each February, the Central Washington Sportsman's Show (CWSS) is held at the Yakima Valley Sundome. It's one of the events that tells us that spring is indeed on the way. On Sunday, my oldest son and I spent part of our afternoon at the show, and had a great time.

I grew up in a rural area, and my dad taught me the basics of hunting and fishing. It's something that I really enjoyed as a teenager. Then, after college, I got into the radio business which turned out to be a six-day-a -week career. That meant that my day off was a day more for catching up on chores than leisure activities. My hunting and fishing kind of went out the window.

The CWSS provided my eight-year-old the opportunity to take in some of the outdoor activities that I enjoyed at his age. He caught three trout in the fish pond, got a free fishing lure, took in the Great Cats show, and even learned the basics of fly casting. I mostly just stood back and enjoyed watching him enjoy himself.  My son has Hyper Activity Attention Deficit disorder (ADHD), so it was great to see him exhibit patience and concentration while fishing and learning to fly cast.

After we got home, he helped clean the fish, and they are now ready for the frying pan. He's looking forward to eating his catch.

I can see some fishing trips in our future this summer.

Here's a great site that has some tips about fishing with kids.