Do you tell these kids that you describe your trips as fishing with nerds? 
Youtube channel for the blonde: āHunting with Nerdsā
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Hunting for nerds
Nerd Hunting
Hunting Nerds
Nerds in the Woods
Nerds with Guns
absolutely I do. when they get in the truck I say āwhats up nerdā.
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Fishing with nerds
@fishing_with_nerds
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The fact that you made the news with that title is hilarious to me
But it seems like an awesome thing youāre doing! If I was anywhere near you I would definitely want to come along. Iām fairly active outdoors (camping, backpacking, white water rafting, etc.), but I just never got into fishing. Maybe one day Iāll figure it out.
OMG having a good belly laugh. The student I mentioned above just passed their hunting test. They texted me, excited, they got 100%. I of course asked them what happened to the last 10%? They responded with a huh. I told them, in my house, we expect 110%.
She just texted me an image of her test results with the 100% crossed out and overlaid with 110% lol. Awesome.
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Is that like a hunter safety course or do you need a different course to hunt in Canada?
itās a hunting only test. learn about animals, where to shoot them, regulations around different types of animals, etc. Not really a safety course, just about animals and regs.
the gun safety course is separate. thatās an in person course, with a knowledge and safety exam at the end. once you pass that, you can apply for a gun license, which requires a full background check from the rcmp.
you can get the hunting license in a day, and then hunt with bow, or hunt with a gun if you are mentored by someone with a gun license.
or you can own and shoot guns, I. e. trap shooting, without having a hunting license. they are two distinct things.
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So Iām booked November 6 to do a presentation at UWaterloo, for engineering students in their final year. The subject is āfinances after graduation for engineersā. I need to setup an instagram post for the engineering society, so I asked chatgpt for help. In the prompt, I mentioned my corporate name, but also mentioned that Iām better known as the Fishing With Nerds guy.
Chatgpt is producing some pretty funny results.
āReel in your financial future!ā
Ready to stop fishing for answers about money after graduation?
Youāve seen me on the waterā¦ now letās talk about keeping your finances afloat.
One of the people Iāve taken fishing this year decided to try and make a dollar doing the āIām young, female, and look at me fishingā stuff that clogs up pretty much any social media platform Iām on. Anyway, I actually encouraged her to proceed. Sheās enthusiastic about fishing and hunting, but Iām her only conduit to those activities so I have to keep taking her out to do stuff so she can get content.
We went squirrel hunting this past weekend. I do everything, take them out, tree the squirrel, point to the squirrel. All they have to do is shoot. And yetā¦a lot of students still miss. Which, she did - missed the impossibly perfect shot last weekend.
Anyway, I let her rip around on the ATV too so got some videos on that, and I gave her some ground venison and suggested she do a video or whatever of her making something with it.
tl;dr, hereās her instagram. Not really my thing, but sheās trying and I think it will take off: https://www.instagram.com/survivewithsophie/
I hope you get some of that sweet, sweetā¦ influencer money.
Sorry, I had to cough there. That pause was in no way intended to be any kind of innuendo.
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You pervs.
I interact with people that age all the time, like weekly. Day long fishing, sitting in an ice fishing hut all day, 4 day long camping trips sleeping in the same tent. The subject has come up with the students indirectly, and Iāve been assured that I"m not creepy, thank goodness.
however, yes, thereās a certain element out there who are going to help her with her future success by subscribing because sheās young and pretty.
The āgoodā thing IMO, is that this kid is well aware of which side is up. Sheās very self aware, self confident and bright. She knows exactly what sheās doing here, even when it looks like she doesnāt know what sheās doing. And itās apparently nothing new either, as sheās already got a gaming channel thing she does.
that was lake Simcoe with a bunch of Waterloo students today.
so Iām torn. Iām starting to plan the semi annual big fishing trip up north. 12-15 students in the bush for four days fishing. transportation, food, boats, etc. itās a lot of planning.
the biggest hurdle is getting people to commit. the students routinely commit, then bail. like in a group of 15, half will turn over, so Iām dealing with 20+. which is a huge problem when I need to find transportation for them, and canoes.
Iām trying to think of a way to get them to actually commit without charging them upfront. Iāve got no good ideas.
probably itās just something I need to accept, just another āpart of the jobā along with dealing with tardiness, broken equipment, etc. eh.
the spring trip is pickerel opener, so itās a big deal. I could just take three students. one truck, one boat and I get time to fish. maybe Iāll do that.
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I dunno, I think without them having any skin in the game, you are going to play musical chairs with the list. You are doing a pretty cool think by organizing and paying for most of this stuff, and this seems to be your only real frustration with it. A few bucks will make the commitment real and lock in the most enthusiastic.
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I understand and agree. But if I charge a deposit, and they want to leave, Iām not going to keep their money. Theyāre students here and they could be worrying about their next meal, or their parents could own half of the third world - hard to say. So I end up with the problem of if itās a refundable deposit, itās not much of a deterrent.
I think the actual answer is suck it up buttercup and just put up with it + complain occassionally.
Or as I tell the students āYou know what I find helps? Not being a big baby. Give that a try.ā.
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If you expect 10-15 people will cycle through and drop with no fee, and 2-3 with a modest fee you refund, itās that a better result?
So did you end up buying more ice fishing gear, or are you borrowing it?