Geocaching and Fishing

When the kids were younger we found that keeping them occupied while out walking facilitated longer walks. Stopping to do activities like photograph flowers, have a snack break, telling them wild stories and searching for geocaches were good activities to ensure a long walk. Some of these tactics work well when out fishing, especially hunting for geocaches as there are often geocaches in natural areas. If you open an account with geocaching.com you can search for a wide range of geocaches but if you join for a small monthly fee you can access a wider array of caches. We love geochaching and have even established some of our own. 

The concept is quite simple and perfect for kids as it is essentially a treasure hunt. Using a GPS or mobile phone, you search for geocaches at given coordinates. Geocaches are waterproof containers that contain at a minimum a log book for hunters to sign if they find the cache. Larger caches also contain a pencil to sign the log book as well as swappable items, items that you swap out like bracelets or buttons, for items of similar value. While the location is given and an indication of the size of the cache, it is hidden and may be disguised to make the search even more tricky. Our home cache is in a fake rock and we have found caches in fake pine cones, in magnetic containers placed on the underside of road signs and even a micro cache in the stem of a ceramic toadstool. Most caches are small tupperware containers, identified by the geocache sticker. Some are placed in camouflage bags or covered in camo tape. Most cache descriptions also include a hint if you really get stuck. Having found the cache you log the find and increase your tally. We really love it and always try to find a few whenever we walk or fish, so give it a try with your kids.

Tight Lines

Greg