Teaching Kids to Fish
Taking your kids fishing can be a fun and bonding time out. Teaching young kids on how to fish can be a slow and time consuming process. The key is to keep patient and allow the child to learn at their own pace. When first starting out, they likely will not have a lot of interest and may be confused. This is both fine and normal behavior. To help out, bring some toys and games with you. This will help them relax and come to you to learn more as their curiosity kicks in. If fishing from a Boat, open the live well and allow the child to watch and touch the fish, it will help them keep interest and help keep them occupied while still learning. Start off slow and show them the rod and reel. Show them how it works. Try reeling in your line hand over hand( your hand on top of theirs.) This will help them understand the concept with hands on learning. When you catch a Fish have them sit on your lap and help reel in the fish. Have them touch the fish, explain a few parts of the fish like gills and dorsal fins ECT. Then show them proper release methods. If unsure how to properly release a Fish, read our catch and release article. Let them know we always safely release the fish we don't plan on keeping, then explain to them about selective harvesting.
Kids are naturally curious so as they are watching you fish (no matter how distracted they seem, they are always watching) they will eventually want to join in, especially when they see the excitement of fish being caught. Teaching them the different types of fish and how to identify them can help keep their interest and help educate them at the same time.
Gear:
To start out, your kids first set up should be very very basic to keep it easy to learn. This is also good if the rod or reel gets damaged or just thrown in you only lose a few dollars and can just chuck it up as a learning experience for the child. Where a $200 setup getting thrown in or used as a lance will bring tears to the eye. This is all about learning and responsibility and also learning how to take care of gear. Once this lesson is well established then you upgrade their gear. You also want to use hide away hooks. These are hooks that pop away into usually a bobber or piece of plastic and pops out when the fish bites. This helps prevents casting accidents.
Safety:
Kids around the water or on a boat should wear a life vest. Find one that fits properly and the most comfortable to move around in so the child doesn't dread fishing because it will be uncomfortable. You should also consider bug spray, sun screen, plenty of snacks, water/juice. All of those should be considered a basic kids package.
Last but not least, do not forget to have fun and enjoy the time you spend with your kids. When properly prepared a fishing trip can be exciting, fun, and memorable throughout their lives. I still to this day remember every fishing trip I ever took with my mom and dad. Good luck and Happy fishing!!!!
Kids are naturally curious so as they are watching you fish (no matter how distracted they seem, they are always watching) they will eventually want to join in, especially when they see the excitement of fish being caught. Teaching them the different types of fish and how to identify them can help keep their interest and help educate them at the same time.
Gear:
To start out, your kids first set up should be very very basic to keep it easy to learn. This is also good if the rod or reel gets damaged or just thrown in you only lose a few dollars and can just chuck it up as a learning experience for the child. Where a $200 setup getting thrown in or used as a lance will bring tears to the eye. This is all about learning and responsibility and also learning how to take care of gear. Once this lesson is well established then you upgrade their gear. You also want to use hide away hooks. These are hooks that pop away into usually a bobber or piece of plastic and pops out when the fish bites. This helps prevents casting accidents.
Safety:
Kids around the water or on a boat should wear a life vest. Find one that fits properly and the most comfortable to move around in so the child doesn't dread fishing because it will be uncomfortable. You should also consider bug spray, sun screen, plenty of snacks, water/juice. All of those should be considered a basic kids package.
Last but not least, do not forget to have fun and enjoy the time you spend with your kids. When properly prepared a fishing trip can be exciting, fun, and memorable throughout their lives. I still to this day remember every fishing trip I ever took with my mom and dad. Good luck and Happy fishing!!!!
