Junior Daniel Cykowski was tired and impatient after a three-hour drive to Texas City, ready to give up on the trip. Yet once he cast his line the frustration faded away, replaced by the kind of calm that made the long wait worth it.

Suddenly, the line snapped taut. Cykowski leaned back while his father stood by, ready with the net as the waves slapped against the dock’s wood. Minutes later Cykowski hauled in the biggest catch of his life, a two-and-a-half-foot long redfish. It was the moment everything clicked.

For years fishing and hunting has provided an escape from academic rigor. Passed down through families, these traditions carry a legacy of fathers teaching sons and friends sharing weekends outdoors and preserving skills that link one generation to the next.

White-tailed deer hunting season opens Sept. 27, quail season follows on Nov. 1, and while fishing is open year-round, new licenses take effect Sept. 1. The hunting and fishing season marks a time when some students troop into the underbrush and open waters, rods and rifles in hand.

After a long week of classes, junior Daniel Cykowski trades in his collared polo for camouflage overalls and casting vests. Cykowski learned to fish when he was 6. He recalls the salty breeze off Galveston Bay, the creak of the pier beneath his feet, rod in hand, scanning for the telltale tug that meant the fish had taken the bait.

“My dad showed me a space where patience mattered more than speed,” Cykowski said. “I just stuck with it, and it’s helped me balance school and stress.”

What began as semiannual family time has become a monthly ritual. For Cykowski the appeal lies in the challenge. “Trying to chase something that is doable but still difficult is what makes it exciting,” Cykowski said. “Catching a big one feels like an accomplishment every single time.”

Now that he drives, Cykowski fishes everywhere, from lakes around Houston to coastal spots along the Gulf. He has also taken up fly fishing. There he focuses on precise, stealthy presentation, replicating insect life near the water’s surface in Colorado and New Mexico.

“Fishing has given me an appreciation for the outdoors and for conservation,” Cykowski said. “It makes you think about the fish you catch, how you handle them and the care you show for the environment they live in.”

Cykowski has integrated his passion into his school life as co-founder of the Outdoor Club, in which he organizes and leads outdoor activities, fostering a deeper connection with nature and environmental stewardship.

Just as fishing has become a ritual for some students, others find that sense of tradition in the quiet hours of the hunt.

That morning junior Matthew Byers sat in silence with a chill seeping through the blind and the sound of branches cracking in the distance. Hours passed before a buck finally stepped into the clearing.

He steadied himself the way his father had taught him, heart racing as he lined up the shot.

For Byers, the moment exemplifies what keeps him drawn to hunting: the combination of challenge, determination and the sense of earning something meaningful.

“My most memorable hunt has to be when I shot my first deer, an 8-point whitetail,” Byers said. “I had gone on dozens of deer hunts before with no reward, so when I finally got one it meant all those hours sitting in a blind paid off.”

Byers learned how to track deer and handle a rifle from his father, who remains his hunting partner today. What began as weekend trips has grown into a family tradition that has shaped his patience and perspective. 

“Hunting has a payoff like no other activity,” Byers said. “It can be incredibly difficult and requires patience, but that makes the reward better than anything else.”

Most of Byers’ hunts take place on his family’s ranch in south Texas. There the brush is thick, and the hours can stretch long, occasionally spending afternoons dove hunting in open fields, but it is the deer blind that taught him his greatest lesson.

“Patience is the biggest lesson hunting has given me,” Byers said. “It taught me that results are not always easy to see in the short term, but if you stay consistent and do not lose faith they will be as rewarding as ever.”

This story was originally published on The Review on September 20, 2025.