Introducing a Kid to Fishing
Introducing kids to fishing can be a challenging and trying experience for us adult
anglers. But in the end, all the stress and trials is a small price to pay to see the smile
on a youngster’s face as he or she explores a creek / pond or better, catch a fish.
As every parent knows, our children is an investment into the future and in this
case, potentially a future fishing partner. In my mind, even more important then
creating a new fishing partner, it should be about instilling a love for the outdoors,
and an understanding of the importance of the environment and its resources. I
often remind my generation that we are only borrowing this from the next
generation.
I can go on forever on this subject but let’s take the kids fishing. Here are a few tips
that can help make the day very enjoyable for all parties involved.
First and foremost, keep it simple and keep it fun. Kids do not care what kind of fish they catch. So a small pond and bluegills or a creek with some small suckers will work great.
Keep the fishing trip relatively short, especially for young children. Any parent knows, attention spans are short.
Fish in the mornings or evening but not too early or late – this way, the heat of the day is not a big factor.
Bring along other “tools” to make the trip fun (this is a tip from a friend of mine who when his kids were little, would bring a bucket and a couple aquarium nets. If the fishing is slow or they get tired of fishing, the kids can catch bugs and crayfish)
As for teaching the next generation how to fly fish, casting and getting tangled can
be a real problem. This is a set up that I’ve used and helped me greatly in keeping
things under control which is incredibly challenging for young kids.
Setup a standard 5wt trout rod with an old worn out butte section from an old leader (most of the time these leaders will be about 5 feet long - what’s important is they are stiff)
Do not add a tippet to the leader
Tie directly onto the leader a small bluegill size popper
As a trailer/dropper to the popper, add a size 10, Hare’s Ear using heavy tippet (if you think break-offs are frustrating to us, just wait for the reaction of a child)
The advantage of this set up is it will reduce tangles despite the bad casting and the
fly will get there. The popper will give the young fisherman something to see watch
and play with. More importantly, that second fly is bouncing around under the
popper and bluegills cannot leave it alone (once in a while, the popper gets blasted
by a fish and we all know how much we love a surface eat).
The biggest thing to remember is to leave behind your expectations at the door and
make it about the kids getting out there having fun. A word for warning – I got my
start fishing small farm pods with this particular set up and look what it did to me. A
life long love the outdoors…which in my book is not such a bad thing. Now go get a kid out fishing!
See you out there,
Jay
Note: For the protection of the youth in the photo (who is a friend’s son), I’ve hidden his identity but everything is in the smile.
