Youngsters fishing...... what would it take?

Just a thought of a thread..... When I was growing up (i'm 42 now.... so.... middle aged), I would fish with my brother... I may have been 12/13, my brother 2 years younger. We would meet up with other young anglers and catch very little.

Somehow, our interest was sustained. Older anglers come up and give us a hand.... give you some appropriate hooks, a handful of maggots that sort of thing. Get you catching!

Some stranger even showed me how to plumb up.... we dreamed that if we could fish the club water stretch just 50 yards down stream from the 'free stretch' - thats were all the fish were!!! (sometimes we would cast JUST into the club water bit)...

We were hooked!

would that happen today?

FAT CHANCE.......

Society has become so risk adverse - Picture the same scene today...

Fancy letting children near water, what are their parents thinking of!

Then, there's that weirdo talking to those kids.... what does he want?

Then there are computer games where you can 'socialize' with your friends from the comfort of your bedroom - without anyone leaving the house!

So sad........

What chance has fishing got in introducing and sustaining interest for the next generation of anglers?

Same could be said of conkers, tree climbing, den making, kite flying..... if you want to allow your children to enjoy this sort of thing 'Adventure play' activities (for a price) are available for children to experience these simple pleasures - of course its all been risk assessed, all staff checked against a data base... bla de bla!

Part of my inspiration to fish was to experience freedom, work stuff out for myself and let my imagination take over.......... Doing things 'properly' wasn't that important.......

Will fishing ever be available to youngsters in the same way again?

Have to agree with you there Chav. I started fishing again two seasons ago after quitting in the early eighties (when I got married and there was little time or money to go fishing), because my son said he would like to. I have carried on and he is mostly on his computer. The first couple of times we went he did really well and caught considerably more than I did at his age. On his first trip he caught over 50 fish, Bleak, Dace, Chub, Roach, Perch and Gudgeon although they were all fairly small and I thought I had cracked it! But although he was pleased he was not ecstatic as I would have been at his age, when like you mention I did not catch that much. After a couple of blanks when in pursuit of something bigger, his enthusiasm began to wane. Perhaps on reflection I was a little selfish in insisting on fishing rivers and maybe I should have taken him to a commercial, but I am not sure that would actually have made a difference. He is very typical of the lads in his school, who seem to be very limited in activities and spend far too much time on computers and games consoles, which generates its own peer pressure. There is I believe a very definite link to their mood swings and levels of self-confidence as a result and the teachers agree with me as it is a concern to them too. I was out in all weathers at his age on my bike, fishing, playing football, but as you say it was much safer then. The way even the slightest injury is treated as serious with accident report forms and the administration of cold compresses, when they are at primary school leaves them ill equipped for secondary school and to be honest they can be wimps! This is turning into a rant, I better stop now

Yes, can relate to that.... took my son fishing from an early age..... but it was not THAT that got me hooked....

it was the freedom I associated with fishing..........

It was getting away from parental control - it was like a drug!

I really sometimes wonder now , why I ever carried on fishing. As kids we used to fish all of the time, but I can never remember catching anything of any note - half a dozen gudgeon would be a good day - i remember my first Chub vividly - 1.08 and I sent a report to Anglers Mail!

I suppose there was not so much to do - we were never at home - always fishing, football, cricket, biking to the common. I'm sure there were the same amount of wierdos about, t's just you knew who they were in your village and avoided them. I don't see the same thing happening now - the expectation is so much greater, what with so many competing things to do & e.g. commercial fisheries meaning it is so much easier to catch fish.

I really don't envy kids growing up now :-(

Hugh Bailey said:

I really sometimes wonder now , why I ever carried on fishing. As kids we used to fish all of the time, but I can never remember catching anything of any note - half a dozen gudgeon would be a good day - i remember my first Chub vividly - 1.08 and I sent a report to Anglers Mail!

I suppose there was not so much to do - we were never at home - always fishing, football, cricket, biking to the common. I'm sure there were the same amount of wierdos about, t's just you knew who they were in your village and avoided them. I don't see the same thing happening now - the expectation is so much greater, what with so many competing things to do & e.g. commercial fisheries meaning it is so much easier to catch fish.

I really don't envy kids growing up now :-(

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Lets face it... you were at greater risk as a child by appearing on Top of the Pops, or getting a Jim'll fix it badge!

I don't think its 'ease' of fishing....

I feel quite strongly about this... its like we have a lost generation of Children who experience nothing of what it feels like to be 'young'.

My profession as a teacher..... drumming into kids what level they are, targets, progress checks, continual monitoring of progress etc etc....

My sons life is homework, attending after school booster maths courses and stressing about the plethora of end of unit tests which are frankly - meaningless.....

Even the value of 'play' is being eroded in nursery schools - quote 'Children as young as two should be structured for basic literacy and numeracy as part of a radical overhaul of early years education, Ofsted will recommend this week.'...... OfSTED.

Have children lost the meaning of care free fun, play and value of pastimes.... I have battled with mental health issues - fishing is often a crutch that forms part of my rehabilitation.... It has value!

what will the next generation have? its worrying really

Chav, I'm with you on this one. I'm a bit older than you - 54 next week, and I have fished on and off, mostly on, since about the age of 6. Nobody introduced me to fishing, my dad never fished, no one else in my family fished apart from my grandad who died when I was 4. So fishing was just something that was inherent, something that I just wanted to do. I don't remember when the bug first bit, I don't even remember what initially sparked it off, but it was obviously there inside me waiting for something to ignite it. I can remember my first tackle - a white, solid glass, six foot 'spinning' rod and drum reel with line of probably about 8lbs bs and a small selection of totally unsuitable hooks, weights and floats! I begged my dad to take me fishing, which he did reluctantly and very occasionally. Needless to say, on the very rare occasions when he did take me fishing, with no mentor or guidance from someone who knew what they where doing, I caught nothing, zero, zilch! But all the time this compelling urge to fish just kept calling me back time and time again - despite no fish, I was hooked, fascinated with everything about angling. It wasn't until I was about 12 years old when my older sisters boyfriends brothers (they were probably no more than 14 and 15 themselves) took me fishing with them on the train (no adults with us - unthinkable now!) from Luton to Bedford one sunday to fish the Gt Ouse on the embankment at Bedford. They put me right and lo and behold my first ever fish - some gudgeon and bleak (which I was told at the time were dace!)! I was ecstatic. I put them in my small keepnet but with each new fish caught, I had to keep hauling my net out to view them - I could not stop looking at them. I was on my way! Now, over the years, like many others it seems, fishing has taken a back seat to other distractions in life - football, girls, studies, marriage, etc. But as these thing come and go, fishing was always there, and always will be. It was the first thing in life that grabbed me and has held my fascination ever since. Like you Chav, I have had issues with my mental health and I find fishing is the one thing that absorbs me so much that it can take me away from everything else. It helps me recharge my batteries, and I would be lost without it. I think if I were a kid today I would not have stuck at it for so long without an end result, as there are so many other distractions to take their attention. I feel lucky that I grew up in the '60's and '70's when life seems to have been so much simpler.

Now, my grand daughter, a real tomboy, who is seven, has shown a similar fascination with fish and fishing, and was delighted with her first fish - a small perch, and has since been a few times also catching roach and gudgeon! She always begs me for information on my latest fishing trip and pictures of my recent catches and is itching to catch her first carp and barbel. Lets hope that the bug infects her as deeply as it has done me, as I feel that it can only make her life a richer one. I shall certainly be doing my best to make sure her interest never wanes.

I did an audit for a local club this week. 30 years ago 80 juniors, 150 seniors, 20 over 65. This week 2 juniors, 33 seniors, 48 over 65, and this for a very reasonably priced club. Ageing [angling] population and no simple solution to fixing it. When I started match fishing (the club can no longer get enough turning out to even run matches) in 1970 we'd get 5-10 juniors, 20 seniors mostly in the 18-30 age group with very few over 50. Now the few clubs running matches often have an average age of over 50.

Last summer I volunteered to spend a Saturday teaching kids to fish.
The Tring anglers run this scheme along with the Canal and rivers trust and various other bodies on the GUC at Marsworth.
A simple gazebo tent, 20+ 4m whips set up with light rigs, safe seating and free maggots.
After a few weeks of publicity on local and national radio plus local plugs on signage, press etc we were mobbed with kids from the age of 3 to 12 for 6 hours solid.
Even some of the mums and dads had a go..
I thoroughly enjoyed it despite my patience being a bit strained at times.
Clubs are the way to go in order to keep fishing alive and family orientated.

Our club runs a fish for free day once a year and then for the next 6 weeks has a free wednesday evening tutoring session for juniors. It seems to be very popular.

An interesting subject. Whilst I share the want for kids to experience the benefits of outdoor activities, I do not agree with the premise that risk adversity is the reason it does not happen.

Look no further than the PC you are looking at right now, social media, internet, computer games, in my opinion those are the real reasons.

Sit and watch people wandering through town centres or parks these days. If they are youngsters they will be walking with their face buried in a smart phone or similar.

Things are very different, we need to learn to accept that, even though we may not agree with it!

Yes as a kid I fished. Carried a knife , shot air guns, climbed trees all without an adult

My son has tried fishing but not stuck at it , but he is a member of my air gun club so gets outside and sees nature

I point out different birds and animals

Still I suppose egg collecting is no longer a hobby kids should be doing

Good way to get kids fishing or doing any other sport-smash up all the X-Boxes,nintendos,i-pads ,I-pods ,I-phones etc..etc...

In the last six years Ive only seen one 'youngster' under 30 fishing a river in winter, dozens over 50, but youngsters are as rare as hens teeth.

Mind you when I walk the free stretch downstream of the LIF its not uncommon to see a few little scruffs snatching out spotties during their Easter hols...........Ive even given them the heads-up a few times when the EA boys have been about....mg:

Well, we were all kids once.

Like me and my school mates supposedly fishing the GU canal (at Marsworth) but sneaking over the bank to fish the 'ressie'............while keeping a very very very sharp lookout for Mr Double who we feared more than Quatermass

Dunno if the kids are on the commies, Ive never fished one in my life!

.

chefster said:

Good way to get kids fishing or doing any other sport-smash up all the X-Boxes,nintendos,i-pads ,I-pods ,I-phones etc..etc...

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Its socioeconomic pressures too.... Both parents need to work, children often come home to an empty house, even school holidays are seen as a massive inconvenience - got to get child care.

Used to be a time you had children, spent your own time nurturing them, had someone to welcome them home, cook a tea...

Electronic gadgets have become a substitute....

this advert grates my soul...... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWHSpv0K_Oc

The 'havenots' holding together 2/3 jobs to keep heads above water..... Rewards?

What value does society put on 'childhood'.........

I belong to two clubs, one is a small club which fishes a single 3 acre estate lake with a membership limited to 250, and the other is a large club with over 2000 members and getting larger each year, with currently over 20 waters available to its members.
The small club just holds one junior and ladies match each year but the membership is getting older and older every year and junior matches are getting smaller. It has a long waiting list but very few youngers are waiting to get membership.

However the larger club has a flourishing junior section (as well as ladies, carp, specialist, match and fly fishing sections).
It has qualified fishing instructors who teach angling to kids from local schools, with several sessions during the year on one of our waters.

plus the club has an open day for mums and dads in the area to bring their kids along and try their hand at angling. The Mayor even came to open it one year.

We have members from each section on hand with rods and tackle all setup as well as several tackle and section stalls, proper toilets and a barbeque.
We even have our resident celebrity Keith Speer on hand (I think Keith is one of the organisers).
Everybody has a fun day and we look forward to it every year.

So the club does quite a lot in the area to get juniors (and their parents) interested the the sport.

So although it's not the same for youngsters today, as it was in our days; clubs can do a lot to encourage youngsters into the sport and give them safe places to fish together with the help they sometimes need.

Keith (BoldBear)

There is a feeling these days that life has got more dangerous for children what with child abductors and paedophiles. I can't see much real evidence for this, just a lot of scaremongering in the media.

As kids in the 60's we climbed trees, made camps and fires in the local woods, took bus rides all over the county and fished. Most of this was done without adults to keep us safe. Of course we sometimes fell out of trees, burnt holes in our clothes, got lost in strange towns and fell in the river. Our parents thought it was all part of growing up.

Management of risk is a skill we all have to learn. It doesn't happen if we shield our kids from all possible risk. To learn how to manage risk you have to take risks and see what happens. Letting your kids spend all day glued to a screen is not equipping them for the real life they will all eventually have to deal with.
I'm not suggesting that we should let our kids run wild and free. We have a responsibility to teach the importance of water safety, not getting in strangers' cars, etc. But, we live in one of the safest societies on Earth. We have to believe that most adults that our kids meet will be normal, helpful and trustworthy - like the vast majority of the members of this forum.
Angling clubs can help, too, by providing well managed, safe, fishing venues and suitable coaching - many clubs seem to do just this.

If I see kids struggling on the bank I will offer help. It's no real sacrifice to give away a few hooks and a few metres of sensible strength hooklength. It costs me nothing to point out the benefit of keeping quiet and out of sight, the importance of depth plumbing or the need for loose feed and groundbait.

I think we all have a responsibility to encourage youngsters to enjoy angling and the countryside. We should not feel intimidated by society's apparent distrust of any adult who wants to communicate with a child.

The club snake lake was heaving with 'em today.

chav professor said:

its socioeconomic pressures too.... Both parents need to work, children often come home to an empty house, even school holidays are seen as a massive inconvenience - got to get child care.

Used to be a time you had children, spent your own time nurturing them, had someone to welcome them home, cook a tea...

Electronic gadgets have become a substitute....

This advert grates my soul...... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwhspv0k_oc

the 'havenots' holding together 2/3 jobs to keep heads above water..... Rewards?

What value does society put on 'childhood'.........

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thats it in a nutshell.

chav professor said:

Part of my inspiration to fish was to experience freedom, work stuff out for myself and let my imagination take over.......... Doing things 'properly' wasn't that important.......

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Working stuff out for myself was (and still is) the primary motivator - discovery! Kids these days have far more distractions to contend themselves with to experience and enjoy the simple pleasures we once had.

By the way, I was the best tree climber in our neighbourhood