FIRST CAST : JUSTIN ONSLOW
the greatest gifts
Every few months I ’ m fortunate to be tasked with penning the first words of Bass Fishing magazine . It ’ s something I enjoy immensely , mostly for the appeal of being able to connect with you , the reader , in a more personal way than I can in writing a product review or a feature about cutting-edge bass fishing techniques or on recent tournament winners .
And every few months the process begins the same : I recognize the need for a topic , I spend a few days or a week going about my business , keeping my mind open to all the threads I could pull and stretch and weave together into a topic of interest that somehow relates to bass fishing . Sometimes I sit down to write with a vague idea that requires a little massaging . Other times , like this one , the topic is chosen for me .
I ’ m not talking about being assigned a prompt . Rather , I ’ m referring to the kinds of life events that are so important – so impactful – that every moment of every day can be related back to them in some way . A few months ago , not long after I ’ d written my last editor ’ s note , my wife and I were blessed with our first child , a beautiful and healthy baby boy who , at 8 pounds even , constitutes my personal best ( yes , I realize that ’ s the sort of thing every bass angler says when they have their first child – cliché though it may be , I couldn ’ t imagine having a hand in anything else so great as that ).
Every day that has followed has called to mind that there are people in my life who felt the same way when I was born – people who instilled in me the love of fishing , and in the outdoors in general . That ’ s the beauty of this sport and in a lifestyle that celebrates being outside and interacting with nature . When you have the bug yourself , you want to pass it on to those you love . You spend time with those people doing those activities , just as I plan to do with my son when he ’ s old enough to hold a rod and pay attention to anything for more than 15 seconds .
And as a new father , I think more and more these days about the fathers and sons who have fished MLF events together . Alton Jones Sr . and Jr .; Chris and Cal Lane ; the late , great Guido Hibdon and his son Dion ( and Dion ’ s sons Payden and Lawson ), Brent and Mason Chapman , Randy and Laker Howell , and on and on . It ’ s no coincidence there are so many legendary fishing families in our sport – fathers and sons , brothers , cousins , etc . When you have a passion for something as great as fishing , you want the people you care about to see in that passion the things you love most about it . You want to share it with them and create memories that will last forever .
I don ’ t know what my son will choose to be when he grows up ; what activities he ’ ll choose to pursue or what career path he ’ ll decide to follow . He probably won ’ t be an editor for a bass fishing magazine , and he may not want to fish for a living . But , as is the case with the Hibdons and Lanes and Joneses , Chapmans and Howells and too many others to mention by name , he ’ ll have grown up with precious memories of time spent on the water with a loving father who wants nothing more than to give him a gift he received from his own parents : the gift of fishing , and of moments that will endure multiple lifetimes .
justin onslow , managing editor
6 MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM | AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2022