If you’re a passionate fisherman, you are probably eager to pass along your love of the sport to your kids or other youngsters. However, before you grab the tub of tear-free sunscreen and junior-size lifejackets, consider the following advice. It could make the experience a lot more successful and enjoyable—for all parties involved!
Fishing with young kids gets more complicated when you add a boat or canoe to the equation, so consider a shore-fishing trip for starters. Fishing from a dock, bank, or beach with a good-old bobber-and-worm combo is a great way to go!
Kids have short attention spans, so it’s important not to push them beyond that limit. If you see their mind begin to wander, it’s probably time to reel in and move on to a new activity. Similarly, if you are trying to teach your child how to cast, recognize that this skill is not often mastered on the first outing. Pull the plug when you sense frustration building—in either of you.
Make the fishing trip about more than catching fish. Point out interesting plants and critters along the way, such as frogs, flowers, turtles, birds, and insects. Make it a total nature-learning experience.
Juice boxes, yogurt tubes, cookies, granola bars—whatever your kids’ favorite (and allowable) snack is, bring it! In ample amounts. Never underestimate the power of a good snack to improve a child’s mood or focus.
Hedge your bets for success by choosing a type of fishing and location that promises to yield results right out the gate. This could be the aforementioned panfish-filled pond or bottom-fishing for scup and juvenile seabass from a pier. Remember that kids will likely be fascinated by whatever they catch, not its size. But they aren’t going to wait patiently for hours until something bites.
The last thing you want is for your much-anticipated fishing lesson turning into a trip to urgent care. Kids are curious, and can’t resist rooting around in untended tackle boxes or boat compartments. To avoid injuries, make sure to secure any sharp objects, which include fishing hooks, scissors, and fillet knives.
While it may be tempting to take all of your kids, or their friends, fishing at the same time, it’s usually best to focus your attention on one child at a time. Internecine jealousy often rears its head when one kid catches more than the other, and you don’t need to spend valuable time putting out that fire! Also, it’s easy to run yourself ragged trying to keep up with baiting multiple hooks, releasing fish, and untangling lines.
Match your tackle to age and ability of your child. In other words, don’t hand your 8-year-old a 50-wide trolling outfit and expect magic to happen. Start them on basic, inexpensive gear (think Zebco spincast reels) that you don’t mind losing overboard and move up from there if they take to the sport.
As ridiculous as it sounds, not all kids dig fishing, at least not immediately. Some never do, of course, choosing instead to play soccer or pursue some other sport or activity. Try to take this in stride. And besides, you never know. Maybe, one day, the fishing seed you planted early on will bloom into the type of passionate angler you had envisioned.
