Take A Kid Fishing
At FishVault, we believe that the only thing more enjoyable than catching a ton of fish is helping a youngster to do the same. While catching fish with kids is great fun, most young anglers will quickly become bored and lose their interest in fishing if you don’t catch anything. In today’s world of cell phone, internet, and social media, there are many distractions that can take away from a good fishing experience.
Fortunately, you can increase your chances of catching fish and sparking a lifelong love of angling by following these six steps:
1. Start with the right attitude. While many adult anglers take their fishing very seriously, it is important to keep things fun when fishing alongside kids. Problems and challenges are guaranteed, but if you stay positive and try to make the best of your time on the water, you’ll catch more fish and have a great time doing so.
2. Pick a great location. This means doing your homework ahead of time. If you’d rather not spend your day untangling line from trees and retrieving snagged lures, try to find a wide-open location from which you and the kids can fish. If you have access to a boat, great. Otherwise piers and docks are great options, as they usually have open casting lanes in all directions.
3. Use the appropriate gear for young anglers. There’s no point in letting youngsters use equipment that they lack the skills to handle, so put away your 7-foot baitcasting combo and opt for a skill appropriate setup such as a 5-foot-long, spinning or spin-casting rig. If they are really young, there is nothing wrong with a snoopy pole! Remember, its about having fun. This way, the kids will spend less time dealing with technical problems and more time with their line in the water.
4. Target suitable species. Forget about wary wild trout and largemouth bass when fishing with first-time anglers. Instead, target panfish or catfish, who generally require less finesse to catch. Most productive waters, from small farm ponds to huge impoundments, will have healthy populations of these types of fish, which will increase your odds of catching a few.
5. Use a productive bait. When fishing with novices, you’ll not only want to use live bait rather than artificial lures, but you’ll also want to use the most productive bait possible. Night crawlers, waxies, red wigglers, crickets and dough balls are often very effective for catching panfish, while hot dog slices, chicken gizzards or even shrimp are often among the most productive catfish baits in many areas.
6. Provide the necessary comforts to keep morale high. This is arguably the most important! You may be willing to take hot temperatures and a parched palate in stride, but kids will generally forget all about fishing once they start to get uncomfortable. Therefore, you’ll want to make sure you bring along snacks and drinks to keep them happy. It is amazing what a candy bar and a juice drink will do for you.
It is important to pass on the heritage of fishing to the next generation. We challenge you to take at least one person fishing this year that has never tried it. Don’t forget about that person who took you on your first fishing trip.