Take a Kid Fishing (Part 1)

The problem I see, is that while many fathers (or mothers) may want to take their kids fishing, they don’t know how to catch fish. Many will take the time and buy a little snoopy fishing rod (or cars, barbie or sponge bob) and ask the lady at the dock whats working and then get so frustrated trying to get their kid to catch a fish, that their kid loses interest and wants to feed the ducks.

For those of you that want to start on a good foot -- I recommend getting hold of a good guide who is patient enough to work with kids. Trust me, there are some salty captains out there who don’t even want to work with adults!! A good guide will not only teach you how to fish and show you where to fish, they help alleviate any stress from you of finding fish (cause thats their job) and you can concentrate on having fun with little Bobby ( or Jaden or Cindy.)

Then there are those of you that want to do it on your own. Ok, I don’t blame you. I never want the easy way either. This mini-guide is for you.

1. Buy them the rod ahead of time. Let them play with it in the yard or park. Tie on the little casting plug that comes with all kiddy rods and let them launch it, toss it, drop it - whatever. Its their rod. When they are done playing with it, reel it back up and let them put it away.

2. Try again. Now when I say play with it, I don’t mean for 2 hours - although if your kid wants to play with it for 2 hours and you have the time, by all means, don’t let me stop you.

3. Find out where to go. This step is a bit tougher because most people will want to go someplace thats close -- in case of meltdown. I think you should just find a place that will let them have fun and catch fish. In San Diego County, I recommend Lake Cuyamaca hands down. Why? Its a small lake. (Read Tiny). You could literally drive a boat around the whole lake in 10 minutes going 2 miles an hour. So why the strong recommendation? Well, that means there’s more fish packed in that lake than in other lakes and that you’ll have a far easier time finding fish to even LOOK at your bait.

4. Don’t picture a giant bass or trout. Although catching one is definitely possible, concentrate on them CATCHING fish. Little kids dont care if the fish is 3” big or 10lbs in weight. In this case, quantity is better than quality. Look around in the paper or online for those lakes that have a huge population of crappie or bluegill or some other panfish.

5. Bring a passive rod for yourself. This is really hard for me, because I am NOT a bait fisherman and I don’t like to just sit there and hope the little worm on the hook is hot enough to entice a large fish. Nevertheless, if you throw in a line while you are concentrating on working with your kid, you might have a chance at catching something larger and then you can hand that off to your kids. Oh yah, prepare this rod down to the hook WAAAY ahead of time. Like at home. The night before. The easiest method to rig up is called Carolina Rigging. Which basically is this: You tie on a 1/4 oz or 1/2 oz worm or egg sinker on the line, followed by a little plastic bead, followed by a swivel and snap. Then you attach a 18” piece of mono (leader) with a small #6 hook to the end of it. Put on a little Chartreuse or pink Berkeley Power TROUT worm. The trout worms are like 1/8” in diameter and about 3” long. They aren’t the jumbo bass worms you find littered on the floor in the fishing section at walmart. Here’s a sample. Just dont use a worm that large.

6. Rig up the snoopy rod, tie in a small red and white plastic bobber and then leave about 18” of the line from the bobber to either a small #6 hook or as in the case of Lake Cuyumaca - a small 1/32 oz pink tube jig. Sometimes, I throw in a second rod for them rigged the same way - that way if you’re fixing one rod, the other is still in the water.

7. Cast it towards the edge of the weedline, by obvious tree cover or again as in Lake Cuyumaca - cast to the middle of anywhere in the lake and reel it in. If you have a two rod setup, you can cast one waaaaaaaay far away and then they can reel it in while you cast the next rod way far away. Remember, you aren’t fishing. You are the deckhand. Don’t plan on taking your kid for the first time on your guided trip in the sierras while you hope to catch golden trout!!

Good Luck!! I’ll expand more on this next time. Till then, cast away!

Joe