Every great sportsman wasn’t just hatched or born. Someone needed to help them become hooked. Unselfish Mentors gave them knowledge and support freely. Mentors had matured as hunters and anglers to where the best catch or filled tag was the ones that they helped someone else get. 

As kids our Mentors were Aunts, Uncles, neighbors, educators, or just random friends. Parents are often too busy working to take time to teach kids how to hunt and fish. Grandparents make great mentors. We never get too old for a Mentor candidate. Mentors tend to show up throughout our lives. You just need to be paying attention. 

I know that some hunters and anglers are super-secret about what they do and where they do it. Mentoring is not part of their tackle box. Even though someone mentored them, they later became selfish and greedy. Many of these sports go to the grave with their knowledge and skills. What a waste. Mentoring offers a legacy for what you have learned.  

Mentors can be men or women. My Aunt Francie was a great spin fisherman. A friend, met in Yellowstone Park taught me how to fly fish, when I was a kid. Mr. Dennis was in his 70’s when he took me under his wing. We were camping at Norris Junction. He and his wife slept in an old Baker Tent. Mr. Dennis loved woolly worms and showed me how to tie, cast, and fish them. For several summers our families hooked up fishing in the park. 

If you have had a great Mentor, you know what I am talking about. Many of our youthful mentors have passed away but they still can be found looking over our shoulders, from above. 

Teaching others how to be a great sportsman is rewarding. You get to relive all your lessons and experiences through a new listener. A rookie sportsman is the one that asks questions and does not brag. They are the easiest to work with. Know it all’s are a waste of time. 

As Hunters and Gatherers, we are supposed to share our skills and knowledge with the next generations. If this doesn’t happen, our sport hunting and fishing will wither and die. Hunting and fishing have changed over the decades. The goals, gear, and destinations are different and no longer what they once were. There are fewer fathers and men in our families, and Mentor pools. Soccer moms have their hands full with single parenting. 

Take a kid fishing. Teach a kid how to shoot, build a fire, dress a deer, or explore the outdoors. Fishing and hunting are about regulations, rules, limits, and knowledge. These lessons will become the sanctuary for future sports, and those that they will teach.

Mentoring is magic!

Montana Grant