The Ultimate Guide to Taking Your Kids Fishing
AUGUST 2020
Why Take Your Child Fishing?
Fishing is a simple, low cost and local sport. It also can be a complex, expensive and distanced sport. Given the flexibility and variety of fishing opportunities, it is the ideal way for parents to teach their kids a new sport that they can enjoy for the rest of their lives.
Fishing provides the opportunity to spend quality time with your child to develop your relationship through shared experiences. Fishing fosters the parent/child relationship with a son or daughter of any age, from toddler to teen. Together you can explore nature and the outdoors without interruptions from cell phones and game consoles. Fishing trips can be very relaxing or exhilarating and can certainly be fun.
I have an 18-year old son and a 15- year old daughter. They had been exposed to fishing at early ages, before most kids could walk. They both enjoy the sport very much and are now independent anglers who have started teaching their friends the joy of fishing. In this document, I present my lessons learned and mistakes to avoid when introducing your child to fishing.
Manage Your Expectations
When taking your kid fishing, focus on the child and their interests, not on yourself. You can be an advanced angler who has fished for trophies on big water in all kinds of weather, those experiences are not aligned to getting a child interested in fishing. Kids need to be excited by the time spent with you, the exploration of nature and the fishing action on a scale that matches their expectations. It is perfectly fine if the catch of the day is a small minnow. That fish can be a trophy to your child if you make it so. Be excited. Take pictures. Create a “my first catch” picture frame.
A single fishing trip does not convert your child into a lifelong angler. It will require consistent positive effort by you. Over time, kids will understand your excitement and interest and take on fishing as an ongoing hobby and experience.
Your Child’s First Fishing Trip
For an adult who might be a seasoned angler, it should be clear that the first fishing experiences with your child are focused on the child and not the parent.
The success of a fishing trip starts with planning and preparation. There are questions that should be considered and discussed with your child. This is a wonderful time to start sharing ideas and set expectations. Each child is different and the answers to these questions will also be different. Remember you are the fishing guide not the primary angler. Engage your child in the preparation and planning as this is key for their enjoyment of the trip.
Fishing Trip Checklist
Here is a basic checklist of what to pack for your fishing trip with your child.
- Fishing rod/reel
- Hooks, weights, floats
- Lures
- Bait
- Knife to cut line
- Stringer, cooler or bucket if you plan to keep your catch
- Sunscreen
- Sunglasses – polarized lenses are great for seeing fish underwater
- Hats – for sun protection
- Insect repellant
- Water or other drinks
- Pliers – to remove hooks
- Snacks
- Lunch
- Camera
- Tape measure and/or scale
Learning to Fish
The CT DEEP has many great articles and videos to help someone learn to fish. For the parent who is a novice angler these are a good place for your child and yourself to start learning about the sport.
They have a “Let’s Go Fishing” student workbook which highlights key aspects of fishing and how to prepare for a successful trip including sections on: Fishing Tackle, Knots, Ethical Angling, Fish Identification, Lures, Fish Care, Casting and more.
They also have a video series with topics such as:
When You Arrive at the Water
Discuss the following items with your child.
- Safety – life jackets, casting, knives, hooks, etc.
- Types of Fish – What types of fish are in this area.
- Casting Guidance – How a clear area for swinging is important. Proper form. What to avoid.Fishing Guidance – How do you know if a fish is biting? Why do they bite?
- Setting the Hook – How to properly set the hook
- Landing the Fish
- Fish Care and Release – Fish need to be handled minimally and put back in the water quickly. How to unhook a fish.
- Taking a Fish for the Table – Discuss selective fish harvesting and how to care for your catch.
- Photos and Memories – Take pictures of everything. Your child. The scenery. The body of water. The fish, etc.
What to Avoid When Fishing
Too Long a Trip
The length of a fishing trip should be based upon planned expectations and then adjust if the action is slow, or your child is not having fun.
Too Much Complexity
Fishing can be simple, or it can be quite complex.Focus on the simplicity of basic rigging, fishing, catching.More detailed tactics can be discussed and considered for a future outing.
Not Having a Plan-B
Even with best planning and intentions, fishing spots or fish activity might no be what was expected.Consider having other options such as a different nearby body of water to try or pick a lake with a play area or swim area if the fishing is not successful.
Not Being Positive and Patient
For the most seasoned angler, patience is understood as a requirement.When you take a child fishing this is even more so.They will tangle the line.They will get a lure stuck in a tree.They will lose a fish.This is to be expected and your reaction to these events and how you recover from them will dictate how your child perceives the trip.
Summary
I hope that you have found this information useful and you can now introduce your child to the sport of fishing. It can be something you share with them for a lifetime.
Please send any feedback, suggestions, or fish stories. You can contact me by email [email protected].
Tight lines … Captain P.
