Mother Day and Opener

[fishing 101]

Is it just our family that always battles over fishing or spending time with family on the Mothers Day Sunday of opener? Every year we battle this dilema with my in-laws. The guys all want to fish and the women get upset if we even bring it up. Sure wish the DNR would bump up the opener to first Saturday in May.

[magnum mike]

Rule #1 - It's Mother's Day! It's not mother-in-law's day, wife's day or any other mutation. You need to make peace with YOUR MOTHER. The rest of them have to get over it.

BTW - after a few dozen anniversaries, this is a non-issue.

[Alagnak]

There are opportunities to fish many species year-round. Even WALLEYE. I will also remind the mothers in my life once and a while- that they don't need one special day for me to show my appreciation. I can also do that year round. Clean the house and take her out for breakfast the week before. No crowds. Go fishing the sunday after. No crowds. ;-)

[leechlake]

my mom died a few years ago but she lived by our cabin so I HAD TO GO SEE HERE ON MOTHER'S DAY. She always requested some walleye filets as a gift. I had a great mom and really one of my life's best situations ever.

As for you're situation good luck. The "your not my mom" thing really doesn't work most of the time. If your kids are young it's generally expected you participate, if the mom's are older most understand and will take another day in lieu of you enjoying yourself.

[solbes]

Its been an issue for us too. I'm always bouncing off the walls to fish and the wife wants an activity day that isn't at the cabin. Usually we celebrate Mothers day the following weekend, but this year I am rollin with Mothers Day. I don't need to be dodging icebergs and hooking pre-spawn fish when the following weekend will be better anyway.

DNR has considered moving it up, but that does not work for protecting the spawn in northern lakes. And its too valuable to the resorts to lose a week of peak season. So I never see this situation changing. You gotta come to peace with it within your family.

[rundrave]

my wife wants to go to a Twins game for Mothers day so by golly that's what were gonna do.

No fishing opener to worry about here in SD either so I wont be joining the herd.

Good luck everyone!

[Jeremy airjer W]

Last year ice out was so early that the I didnt even get the boat wet on the opener. It was so nice we went to opening day at valley fair. The wife was happy, the kids had a good time, and I didn't miss not fishing at all.

[ozzie]

I must have a great wife and a great mom as my wife and I in our house switch mothers and fathers day so I get to fish opening weekend without any problems and she gets fathers day weekend to do as she pleases...and my mom gets flowers and we have dinner as a big family somewhere on Sunday night and that is all she asks. Win Win for me!!

[bigbad401]

Not too much of an issue with my family. My wife comes from a family that is heavy into fishing, so she understands. I just need to spend as much time with her when I get back on Sunday night. I would have a much harder time if the opener was a week earlier because of the step-daughters birthday.

[LindellProStaf]

I take my wife out for Sunday brunch. Then we come home and go fishing. If it is nice out she stays out for awhile otherwise she likes to have a little campfire in our woods. Then I call my mother and wish her a Happy Mothers Day and go fishing again... Works great!

[bigbucks]

Hasn't been an issue for me since I had kids. It's one day, I go fishing on Saturday & we go to Church like normal Sunday's & out for dinner on Mother's Day. Love to fish, but don't have to do it every minute of every legal day, have a job, kids have activities, what's the difference? Wish Mother's Day were earlier, but it's not. I will admit the years that Opening Day weather sucks & Sunday's beautiful are a little harder to take, but it's a pretty small sacrifice.

Last year my sacred opener was greatly affected as an older friend who I'd worked for as a teenager passed away & his nonfishing family had the funeral on opening morning. They'd asked me to sing in a quartet weeks before. Fishing is important, but not that important. I actually went with one buddy in his boat a few hours before. Then took my boat & met another buddy later in the day, still had a great opener. This year probably going to help put the docks in at the bible camp in the morning, as our Church has a crew that does it every year. Normally it's been done for two or three weeks. They want it in, they can't help it the ice didn't go out. In fact it still isn't out today, so we might not be able to do it.

I guess what I'm saying is make it work for your Mom if possible. If she really doesn't care if you celebrate another day & that works, fine. When I was single, she was pretty okay with it, but when I got married & had kids, she kind of expected a little more from me I guess. If your Mom does care, chances are she made a LOT more sacrifices for you than you EVER did for her. Fishing opener is important, but it's not like firearm deer opener or even duck opener, where it truly is by far the most productive day of the season.

Sorry for the length. If it sounded preachy it wasn't my intent, just food for thought.

[fivebucks]

Fishing Opener was here before Hallmark invented Mother's Day so... (actually a president made mothers day but I always blame Hallmark for these type of holidays)

That said my mom has been getting a nice phone call every mothers day for many years. I do take her out for Easter brunch though so I am not a complete careless son.

[bigbucks]

Agreed, both were here before my lifetime started & that's getting closer to 50 years than I care to think about. Every family is different, my Dad's not really much of a fisherman, so he's no help on precedent...

[MikeG3Boat]

Well my mom passed years ago, but now she is with me every day.

But while she was alive she was a great sport about it. As long as she got a phone call and a card she was good. Now with the Misses, I just tell her that she is not my mom!! It goes over better now that the kids are older, but she was a good sport about it even when they were little.

[pikerliker]

Rule #1 - It's Mother's Day! It's not mother-in-law's day, wife's day or any other mutation. You need to make peace with YOUR MOTHER. The rest of them have to get over it.

BTW - after a few dozen anniversaries, this is a non-issue.

I always think it's funny when I read this response. It's mothers day. So you honor mothers, it doesn't have to be YOUR mother. My wife gave me 3 beautiful kids. They are by far the best things that have happened to me in my life. I think I can suck it up and give her one day. And if I remember right a few wives out there do some nice things for us on Fathers day. I fish Saturday and spend Sunday with the family. It's one day out of the year. I have the rest of the year to fish.

[Comit 2]

Quote:

Rule #1 - It's Mother's Day! It's not mother-in-law's day, wife's day or any other mutation. You need to make peace with YOUR MOTHER. The rest of them have to get over it.

As I tell my wife. "Your not my mother".

My mother would have wanted to go fishing!

I'm taking my wife fishing for mothers day.

[CANOPY SAM]

Good for you, pikerliker! You nailed this one. Mother's Day isn't just for YOUR Mom. It's for ALL Mother's, including the Mother of your children, the Mother of your wife, and their Mother's as well!

C'mon guys. You can fish for 250-300 days a year. It's not too much to set aside one day per year to honor and respect all the Mom's in our lives who've given years, and years of their lives to us. Show a little love to those who've shown so much love to you, even went you weren't always so loveable!

[PierBridge]

Quote:

Every year we battle this dilema with my in-laws.

Shouldn't be every year as the MN Walleye opener is not on Mothers Day weekend every year.

[LindellProStaf]

Well put pikerliker!!!

[mainbutter]

Is it just our family that always battles over fishing or spending time with family on the Mothers Day Sunday of opener? Every year we battle this dilema with my in-laws. The guys all want to fish and the women get upset if we even bring it up. Sure wish the DNR would bump up the opener to first Saturday in May.

I'm sure it's not just your family, but it ISN'T mine.

Mothers' Day weekend is spent going to the plant sale at the state fairgrounds, going over to my fiancee's parents' place, calling my mom and grandparents, eating great food, and spending time with family.

Fishing is for Wednesdays, and never with "the guys". I hate going "fishing with the guys", but my gal is welcome to come along any time.

I guess we're just weird though, because we also never have a football game on the TV during family gatherings.

[Down Deep]

But while she was alive she was a great sport about it. As long as she got a phone call and a card she was good. Now with the Misses, I just tell her that she is not my mom!! It goes over better now that the kids are older, but she was a good sport about it even when they were little.

My wife didn't care if I went fishing either. She always said --- you take care of these kids all year and work hard to provide for them. I want you to enjoy your favorite weekend of the year. I'd give her a card and a dozen roses on the Friday before the opener as I was heading out for the weekend and she called it good. These roses got the nick name "Walleye Roses". The last kid left the nest over 10 years ago, but the "Walleye Roses" tradition continues.