Doug and Jennifer Jones believe in spending time and doing things with their children, especially when the activities are outdoors.

For the Keller family's leisure time, they are often swimming, fishing, hunting or enjoying a variety of other outdoor adventures.

Four days ago, the activity of the day was fishing -- and the first fishing trip on a boat for 6-year-old twins Hanna and Hunter and 3-year-old Hailey.

"This is the first time they ever have been striped bass fishing and the first time they have been in a boat," Doug Jones said. "I started them off fishing...when Hunter and Hanna were 3 years old and Hailey was 1 and a half by taking them trout fishing in the Bear Creek pond in Keller. We also go trout fishing to Red River, N.M., every year."

Doug and Jennifer introduced their children to fishing through Texas' community pond fishing program and take them to public lakes and rivers as often as possible.

Numerous communities, including Keller, have established children's fishing events at community ponds where the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department stocks rainbow trout in the winter and channel catfish in the summer. The department also annually schedules family fishing events at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center in Athens and at several state parks and often provides fishing equipment for use at fishing events.

Also, many professional fishing guides either do not charge for children or will offer discounts while providing fishing gear, bait and tackle.

But back to Wednesday.

The Jones family arose at 4 a.m., gathered an ice chest full of snacks, drinks, suntan lotion and other necessities and drove to Lake Texoma to meet Michael Beeson of Four Seasons Guide Service. Beeson, a veteran Texoma fishing guide, also had been awake at 4 a.m. -- throwing a cast net to catch live threadfin shad to use as bait.

Once they were on the lake and the boat was anchored, the children found themselves looking at fishing equipment much different than the "Snoopy-type" ultralight spinning rods they use to fish for rainbow trout.

They now had much heavier rods, such as Shakespeare Ugly Sticks, Ambassadeur bait-casting reels and stout line. And instead of fishing in clear, shallow water with corn kernels, salmon eggs or other small trout baits, they lowered live 3- to 4-inch shad to the bottom in 20-30 feet of water.

Eventually, the Joneses -- first Hunter, then Hanna, Hailey and Jennifer -- were pulling in one fish after another Within an hour and a half, the Jones had caught 31 stripers and one 3-pound blue catfish.

Handling the larger fishing equipment wasn't easy for the youngsters, but their faces were filled with determination and excitement.

"I was worried about the fish jerking the rods out of their hands...but I thought they did real well in learning to put one hand on the rod out in front of the reel and tucking the rod under their arm even while wearing life preservers," Doug Jones said. "I thought they did real well."

Although the Joneses caught lots of fish, the experience itself is most important, he said.

"After we got back home, some people asked me if we had caught a limit of fish, and I was quick to tell them no," Jones said. "I told them I went there to fish with my kids and to enjoy the experience with them. That's what it meant to me. Catching a lot of fish is fun, but that is not really what it is all about."

Jones said many parents today are shortcutting their children's learning opportunities by not getting them involved in outdoor activities.

"People are losing out on learning social skills by staying on the Internet," Jones said "They are losing interactive skills and learning how to be creative by not staying in the outdoors. I'm not saying computers are bad, but I think turning kids loose for hours on a computer is not good for their kids....

"We went trout fishing one day, and we had five trout on the stringer and already had had a really good time. I suggested that we call it a day, and my kids asked me why we were leaving. I told them we had plenty of fish for us, and we were leaving so other kids could catch some fish.

"They said, 'Wow, that's a good idea, Dad.'"