Ollin Magnetic Digiscoping System

Too many hunting interests?

Nothing wrong with that. I'm sure your memories are much more fond and clear than my 20s memories
I remember working 60 hours a week, Buying a new house making a yard, and a very happy life.
Kids were out fishing and being packed on hunting trips since they were 2 years old. They're now 43 and 41 years old and we still hunt/fish once a week together. My Little Granddaughter and I call coyotes, fish, and hunt deer together every opportunity. The wife and I have been in BLISS for 47 years and going strong.
 
In Maryland there are certainly more opportunities than time to actually hunt or fish. I concentrate on Chesapeake Bay fishing from now thru mid December when the weather is right. When that ins't working we hunt doves in Sept, and switch to deer and ducks on and off depending on the season from Oct thru early Jan. The only real doldrums times around here February thru mid April when turkey opens up. From April onward you turkey hunt and fish in the bay again. By early June the offshore bite gets going and that's an option thru Sept.
 
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No such thing as too much hunting. I plan to hunt as many animals as I can while my health allows me to do it. That includes small game and birds and fishing as many Wyoming lakes and rivers as I can.
 
Anyone else like me, in that they enjoy so many different hunting and fishing interests?


Add in a family with a dog (soon to be another dog next year) and balancing all of these gets tough. Although, my oldest kid is getting to the age where he can start to join,

I have thought about dropping duck hunting and or bow hunting, but I just cant seem to do it, especially now that my kids are getting older, I figure I would introduce them too all of it to see what they like.

You are fortunate you have a variety you like. More than likely your kids will have different things they prefer, so you can share different experiences with each of them. You have a while before you have to buy them licenses, so expose them to it all in small doses. Even Hunting dogs can get soured if they get overhunted or worn out on their first experiences. It's all about many little successes.

You are moving into the years where hunting isn't just about you. You may need to adjust your approach to include your kids. Don't worry we all did. some more successful than I....
 
Breastfeeding. Key for the Dad's sleep.

I survived that only because my wife didn't kill me in my sleep while she breastfed our two.

I had to make a deal to get my second kid. Wife stayed in bed, I got up and retrieved the munchkin to bring to feed. Diapers, swaddle, returned to bed lol. She got as much sleep as possible and I had to make it work lol. But, I'm very blessed that all of my kids were sleeping through the night at 8 weeks.
 
I love to do all of the hunting and fishing too. It is time to start wrapping up fishing for hunting gear but this year I'm really into fishing. My son and I went out on Saturday and had the lake to ourselves. There were people taking pontoons and ski boats out of the season. Pulling docks in, general fall clean up stuff. We fished a popular point on the lake for walleyes and were on it for 2 hours with no boats.

The water temps are dropping and the weather is perfect. No way I'm putting the boat away yet.

I don't care for hunting in MN much anymore. So, I''ll probably fish right up to November this year.
 
I have thought about dropping duck hunting and or bow hunting, but I just cant seem to do it, especially now that my kids are getting older, I figure I would introduce them too all of it to see what they like. I have a friend that seems to be doing the opposite, he sold his duck gear, their dog just died so no more pheasant hunting. He said hes going to wait to see what his son wants to do when hes older.

I'm starting to figure out the balancing, as I'll focus on archery until early october then I'll hit duck opener with the pup, then wait until pheasant opener, then back to bowhunting then rifle season, then I really get into the pheasants. realistically, I only hunt ducks on opener then maybe 2 more times.

If your kids are young it's going to take some time. I introduced them slowly. Moslty it was because they wanted to come along and spend time with me. If anything, I would have introduced them sooner. My daughter didn't have much interest until she was 6 or 7. My son was much sooner. She has deer hunted plenty and doesn't like the cold weather. So, turkey hunting is our jam. My son....he's all in for everything. He's quite the outdoorsman at this point.

But, you're right, you'll have to prioritize. I'm remarried now and we have with "his, hers, and our" we have 6 kiddos now. They all love fishing, especially the 3 year old. So, we do that a lot.

But when my son REALLY started taking an interest in hunting, my "hunting" took a back seat to his. I poured 100% into helping him be successful and learning about the woods. All the stands were set for him to be successful and I took the less desirable spots. He's shot 3 times the amount of deer I have over the last 4-5 years. I think I've shot 2 actually over the last 5 years.

On the flip side, I no have someone that I can hunt with for the rest of my life. And I don't actually enjoy hunting nearly as much without my son. Sure I like it. But don't get the same enjoyment out of it.

Take them every time. Teach them, show them your passion, share it with them. It's 1000% worth it.
 
This all explains why I have not shot a buck with my bow since i've been doing it for 19 seasons (the last 5 years being picky now).

being this is the first year bringing my 6 year old out, I had to keep telling myself we may drive 20 min to hunt for 1.5 hours for turks, or we may getup early and walk to the deerstand at primetime and only last 30-45min.
Same with the fishing, all the time it takes to get the boat ready, drive to the access then actually fish, its small little doses with success.


We got a pup before the kids popped out and I told my wife, raising kids is very similar to a puppy, short, successful, training sessions goes a long way, as long as I can keep my composure
 
I have a lot of hobbies, hunting and fishing just being my primary ones. I also like to woodwork, garden, work with livestock and about a gazillion other things. If I were rich and didn't have to work, I don't think I would have trouble finding things to do. The good thing is my wife and boys (at least so far) like to do these things. That helps tremendously in that I'm not trying to perform a balancing act between the family and my hobbies as they are usually right there with me. My boys would rather be outside than inside watching TV. I look around at my neighbors and seldom do I see them outside other than getting the mail, taking out trash, or mowing. I'm SO glad that we are outside nearly every day partaking in our collective hobbies.
 
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