A Mothers View

I am a Vancouver, Washington mother of two children, a girl age 5 and a boy age 8. This summer we also went on a guided fishing trip with Bear (or Mr. Bear as my daughter calls him). First, I will start by saying when we moved here 10 yrs ago my husband bought every piece of fishing equipment in order to take advantage of all of the fantastic fishing in the Pacific Northwest. Well, after many fishing trips and no fish my husband had given up that fish even existed in the Pacific Northwest. Bear promised that we would catch our limit. In about four hours we had our limit of 25 trout. My kids were so excited and we all had a blast. Bear is warm and funny and great with kids. He is a big cuddly teddy “bear”. I would highly recommend Bear’s fishing trips!

My 1st fishing trip

It was my first fishing trip and I was quite excited. Right when I stepped on that boat, the excitement rushed! I was hoping to catch my first fish, and I was ready to do it too. When we got on the boat, Mr. Bear taught me how to bait my fishing pole, and how to cast it into the water. I had a little trouble in the beginning, but with Mr. Bear’s guidance, I was a quick learner. I found Mr. Bear is a very kind and patient person, so he helped me quite a bit to understand the fundamentals of fishing, and he took time to help me at times where I was lost or confused. My first fish, wasn’t just exciting, it was an amazing feeling. I felt proud of myself, and felt accomplished. After I caught my first fish, I tried to unhook him, but wasn’t successful! Again Mr. Bear came to my rescue, from the slimy fish. I found that even if slimy things make you feel loathed, Fishing is totally different. … I would say fishing with Mr. Bear was extremely FUN!

Nicole (a 12 year old girl)

Fathers Day 08

My family is not new to fishing. When the opportunity arises or our time allows, it is not uncommon to find my dad, brother, and I in our boat on some lake. The only downside to our adventures is always equipment related. Setting up the poles. The hassle of launching, and retrieving the boat. Will the Motor run well? Then we need to find the fish, and cleaning the boat after fishing all day is simply not fun!

This last Father’s day 2008, my Mom wanted to give her men a day of Fishing With Bear. Fishing without the hassles. We woke up, packed a lunch, and headed out. When we got to the lake, we stepped on the boat and motored out. A few minutes later we were in one of Bear’s spots. We were handed poles already baited and ready to go. Something was wrong. It took me a while to figure out what it was. Then I realized, I didn’t have to worry about anything. Driving the boat, finding the best spots, re-baiting and re-gearing the poles. This was 100% fishing. It seemed there was always a “fish-on” or some nibble action. We almost limited. It’s amazing how effective you can be when your only job is to work your fishing pole. At the end of the trip, we stepped off the boat and were handed a bag of just cleaned fish from bear. We then jumped in our truck and drove off. Again, that feeling we were forgetting something came back. That’s right! We had no equipment to clean. It made for a great time spent on Father’s Day.

Thanks Bear!