The Apprentice

Right lads, a hypothetical situation or maybe a reality cunundrum, you have decided to go in to the local school to promote interest in your hobby, or you have a young relative seeking an interest. Where would you start them on a fishing career, and how would you hold the interest of a multi interest generation is it the commies or the general fishing approach. Will the you tube vids turn there heads south, or match angling take their fancy, or the Rivers and estate lakes take their fancy, how would you approach this task and why.

hey steve, interesting subject.
the way i would approach it in both instances would be to get the permission from my club to have access to our most prolific lake for the day, then in the instance of taking a few interested kids from the local school/youth club i would supervise a match using some of the loads of tackle in my shed (that the hairy boss is always trying to get rid of) with the kid catching the most keeping the tackle as a prize and incentive.
if it was just my son/daughter or another relly then i would just introduce them on an ongoing basis to the small stuff first and step up the targets as they progressed in ability.
the reason for the different approach is that i would have more time and opportunity with my own kids.

I heartily recommend trying it. My experience suggests smaller groups of up to 3 allow more time to give individuals the attention needed. By this I mean listening to them and their other interests not focussing entirely on the fishing at hand. Being able to ask for help builds confidence for them.
Anyone contemplating making a positive contribution might be surprised at how much support already exists. Including funding pots from local charities. For the protection and safety of all be sure to get recognised Safeguarding training. Again often free if you ask around. A DBS check may be required, and is desirable anyway. These CAN be licensed for a moderate fee to be acceptable to different institutions and establishments, and help to protect all involved.
Groups I have taken recently are keen to try rivers having already caught more easily in commies. Just catching isn't always the 'obvious' strategy it would appear to be.

One of my local clubs (VAC) has qualified angling instructors who occasionally visit schools in the area promoting the sport and have instructional fishing days on one of our lakes where the kids can try it for themselves; all tackle and bait is supplied if needed and it costs the kids nothing.

We also have an open day once a year where all of the different sections; Match, Carp, Specialist, Junior and ladies sections and Trout section; all have rods setup along with section members, and where anyone who comes along can try catching fish, and can also apply to join the club if they decide they like it.
We also have various display stands and food and drinks etc.

My other local club has an annual Junior match (and free barbecue) open to anyone (members or not) on the clubs private estate lake, and their mums or dads can sit with them (giving them advice, and even helping them to cast if they are really small).
Winning Prizes are donated by the local angling shop and every kid goes away with a small trophy to remember their day.

Keith

I have to admit to being a bit stumped when I first tried to answer this.

Think about it…

Just explaining the workings of a reel to someone who’s never used one before could take an eternity… Which way to wind to retrieve line, the bale arm, the anti-reverse lever, the baitrunner lever, the drag and how it interacts with the rod and how both in turn interact with the line weight along with when to use one in preference to the other eg. back winding or drag?

It goes on and on, that’s before you even start to think about all the other unfamiliar myriad of tackle around you and you still haven’t got around to the different species of fish and the best baits and methods by which to catch them.

Which brings me around to thinking that first and foremost the “apprentice” must at least have a basic interest and desire to take up fishing instead of fishing just being used to prize them away from the games console and get some fresh air into their lungs… If they don’t genuinely want to do it I reckon there’s just too much to learn to do be able to force it upon them.

Given a willing candidate, I reckon it’s imperative to start them off on a water where they are likely to at least catch a few fish with a fairly general approach and some close guidance even if that water is a commercial as I believe that a couple of sessions finding out for themselves will likely pre-empty an awful lot of explanation and questions once they get a feel for the tackle and start to join the dots up in their own minds.

Once they are familiar with the basics and have caught a few fish, take them to the most scenic stretch of river you know and open up another world… I think the rest will then be down to them and their resourcefulness in seeking out further information as a result of the desire to progress.

Following on from that and in cases such as my formative years a regular mentor who will then go on to provide the travel to different waters and continuing guidance on a regular basis would be priceless.

I've taken three coarse angling newcomers out over the last few years. One was a beginner fly angler that saw coarse angling as a way of actually catching a few. Another is a young carper, that has done little else other than out and out carping, but wants to expand his horizons a little. The third is a youngster starting from scratch.

Each has been an interesting but significantly different experience. The choice of where to take each of them, and the methods to employ, has been quite a quandary at times.

I've mostly had the former fly angler out on the rivers trotting with a pin. This was his expressed interest from the beginning. However, I pretty much forced him onto other venues and to alternate tactics. It's been very satisfying knowing that he's really enjoying the odd stillwater and that he's going out on his own and being fairly successful with what I've shown him.

The young carper was already an accomplished angler, but only within fairly narrow parameters. Daft things like having to teach him how to underarm cast was a bit of a shock. I was also convinced that his fish playing skills left something to be desired after years of using full on carp kit. I know he learned quite a bit from having to play fish that significantly outweighed the breaking strain of his line on much lighter rods.

The youngster is still a work in progress. I'm being very careful about where and when we go. Initially, I was simply taking him to places where he was going to get very regular bites. Somewhere stuffed with small roach and rudd being ideal. Unfortunately, I unwisely took him to a venue that had a fair number of reasonable carp amongst the bits. It was far too early as all that happened was that a fairly angry 5-10lb carp on float gear just scared him silly. It put him off going anywhere with fish that might really pull back for a while. Thankfully, on our last trip out he hooked and landed a carp around 6lb. Now he's a bit keener to tangle with fish a bit larger than 8oz. Ideally, I'd love to find somewhere stuffed full of fish little larger than 3lb. Somewhere to expand on his fledgling playing skills.

Much depends on what an individual thinks of when they call a venue a commercial. As yet, I've resisted the temptation to take anyone to what I'd consider an out and out commercial, match or big carp. A couple of the venues might come close if your idea of what commercial means is a bit different to mine.

I think you can only get kids into fishing by taking them. You will only bore the pants off them talking about it, Kids like to try new things out, the younger the better.

My 3 sons all came with me at a very young age, it might have been for an hour to start with.

The most important thing is make sure they catch, I found once they catch, you have the kids hooked. The other thing is, don't take them for hours and hours, as they can also get bored catching, its a fine balance.

I was lucky, I had some good waters local, and the boys would catch Roach, Perch, of just a few ounces, with the odd bigger one. Thats why I think commies can play a part in getting kids into fishing. Don't be fooled into thinking all commie waters are easy.

My only concern with some commies is that its just carp, carp, carp. Not Good

As my sons got older, it was whole weekend sessions, and i would often have one of the boys mates joining us.

I forgot, they can also learn more about the wildlife, and see things that their mates my not see. Owls, Badger, Deer. Kids love to tell their mates what they saw, and that can bring other kids not fishing.

sam vimes said:

Ideally, I'd love to find somewhere stuffed full of fish little larger than 3lb. Somewhere to expand on his fledgling playing skills.

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Try Oakmere, near York. It's a caravan site with 3 lakes of a couple of acres, but it's also day ticket.
As you enter the fishery from the car park, the first lake you encounter is the "old lake" with big beds of mature lilies and a single island. Avoid this one, where carp to mid-twenties roar off with gusto and have sanctuary aplenty to aim for.
Turn left and just after the old lake there's a second lake with several smaller islands to fish to for a fish-a-cast session with the majority of the various carps ranging from ounces to a few pounds (not just carp, though). If you'd gone straight ahead from the entrance, there's a similar lake, with the average size maybe just a tad higher than the one I've just mentioned. It's very easy, but just the place for a youngster to learn the mechanics of playing fish.
I quite enjoy fishing the old lake, which seems to be best in the evenings and is a far better challenge. Watch out for the barn owls as dusk falls; likewise the lone water rail - a particularly shy bird that I've only ever seen when it's raining, and never when anyone else was there.
Not sure about payment method, since we usually just add any fishing costs to the bill for our stay. If you need to approach the farmhouse leave your pal in the car - there are a large number of dogs in the garden, all competing to bark the loudest. They're harmless enough, but they sound anything but, so it could be quite a shock for a young lad.

Oakmere Caravan Park , Selby Campsites, North Yorkshire

Cheers Rob. I suspect it's a little too far away, but I'll keep it in mind. Fortunately, I think I may have found something a little closer to home.

I would take them to my local Club Match lake, rig up a Carp rod, show them a simple rig, stick on a Boilie, cast out, put the rod on the alarm, attach the indicator and wait for a run !!

When the run comes I would play the fish in, land it and unhook it on the mat, then take a picture of the my Grandchild knelling by the Carp.

He or she would then continue to fish until now, just like my Grandson of 25 and my Granddaughter of 11, they both started as small children ?

Bob

I definitely think it's a dad's job to teach fishing to his son(s) and that's where you have most chance of them sticking to it. Certainly that's how I started anyway.

The school visits do sound like a good idea, but I wonder whether a formal school classroom setting would be the best place to present a fun activity? I could see it being overwhelmed by horror/fascination of maggots etc. from those who are never ever going to go fishing.

One thing my youngest lad's school does have is after school clubs, such as football, judo and even Irish dancing. That would be a good environment to show kids the wonders - ones that want to be there, rather than a whole class of 35 noisy kids jumping about.

As for venue, it would most definitely be picturesque local rivers where a few tiddlers could be guaranteed and they stand a good chance of being able to cast, strike and land them without any adult help. It would be good to also point out other aspects of the countryside and river creatures.

I should think the prospect of a couple of hours sat in silence with no bites at a grim commie, where it needs the adult to cast and even if anything were caught it would be way too big for them to play and reel in, would be enough to put most 7 - 10 year olds off for life!