Totally new! Would love some advice please :-)

Hi, I am posting on behalf of my 11 year old Son.
We "had a go" at fishing off Mevagissey harbour while we were away with a cheap rod and he loved it. He did not catch anything but got to grips with casting out and just loved the whole thing.

So now we are back in Cheltenham and he would love to go fishing but I have no idea where to start.
I now realise he needs a licence (which I think are free for kids?) but that's as far as t goes. I looked at some fishing lakes but it seems like you need lots of gear just to go and see if you like it such as landing mats and nets etc.

I don't know what is course fishing, fly fishing etc etc....we went to Go Outdoors and the lady there was helpful and recommended using a spinner as it is easier......do you use a spinner in fishing lakes?

If anyone knows of a good spot for a young beginner near Cheltenham and what we would need without shelling out to much initially I would love some advice please.

Many thanks
Amanda

Hi Amanda,


It's coarse fishing you will be doing but I would avoid using a spinner, this was bad advice for a novice and potentially dangerous, they have treble hooks so if you do go down that route you may want to crush the barbs with pliers just in case. Also spinners only tend to catch certain fish and are banned on many fisheries.

Please go to you local tackle shop for better advice, they should be really helpful. Ask them about a basic float set up and get some maggots, they will also be able to point you in the right direction regarding where to catch his first fish.

Basic gear is a landing net to lift out larger fish, a discorger to help remove the hook (barbless hooks would be best) split shot and a few floats is all you need with your rod and line. If fishing with maggots then a size 18 is ideal don't worry that it's small just chuck in a few maggots around your float and this style should get bites wherever you fish from many different species.

You're right in the fact that some fisheries have a lot of rules and need certain equipment so hopefully someone can help you with some local waters that don't. You will need a landing net and discorger wherever you go.

If not then the little river Chelt in the town has free bits where he could catch his first fish and although they may be small it could be a better start for him than to be surrounded by big carp and (maybe) instant success. I fished a bit in a park off Princess Elizabeth Way the other year on holiday and it had little fish in the deeper holes, fun for a youngster. If he does continue to enjoy it then a fishing club would be an ideal step as they can help him much more and there will be access to better waters and more advice.

Hope this helps
Rob

theartist said:

It's coarse fishing you will be doing but I would avoid using a spinner, this was bad advice for a novice and potentially dangerous, they have treble hooks so if you do go down that route you may want to crush the barbs with pliers just in case. Also spinners only tend to catch certain fish and are banned on many fisheries.

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My sentiments exactly and treble hooks can be tricky things to remove to the uninitiated, the last thing the lad wants is to have to tangle with a pike without the necessary experience to keep him and the fish from harm.

(Spinners will often catch pike along with other predatory fish)

In every other sense Rob has pretty much summed things up and great fun can be had with the bare minimum of gear, if you should find yourself fishing near other anglers you will generally find they will go far out of their way to help the lad out and offer you any help and advice you might need.

Good luck with it and well done for encouraging him, it's a great hobby

Ditto to what Rob and Steve said, you may find some venues here that don't involve too much of a journey.

Fisheries.co.uk - Places to fish in England and Wales

In terms of tackle, a shortish rod (10'0/3050 mm) or whip maybe a good option as they should be easier for him to handle, a decent fish on a long rod with a short landing net handle can create problems.

A whip is a great idea didn't think of that, mind you they didn't have them when I was a kid, either that or they were too pricey back then.

Try asking if there are any local angling clubs that have a junior section as they soo
,metimes have days where the juniors are accompanied by experienced guys who will help bring the lad along in leaps and bounds.
My old club do it one a year and every junior gets a prize however little they catch .
It ends with a huge BBQ on the bank if the weather is nice--- it's all mums, dads, kids having a truly enjoyable time,.

Might be worth looking here to see if there are any events local to you.

Thank you everyone that is really helpful, I will try to find a fishing shop around here

sam vimes said:

Might be worth looking here to see if there are any events local to you.

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Thank you so much - we found some free coaching at South Cerney so I took both son and daughter yesterday and they had a great time and caught several Rudd each

They gave them each a free whip which was amazing as well as an allround rig which is already set up BUT I can't work out how to attach it to the whip despite hours o youtube
The whip has no elastic but the rig does......any tips anyone?

We now also have landing nets and have ordered unhooking mats so we will be good to go.

We drove to Twyning lakes today but when I saw all the guys with loads of kit looking professional I lost my nerve and we headed home much to the kids annoyance.....I will try to take them next weekend once we work out how to attach the rig to the whip...

howdoifish said:

Thank you so much - we found some free coaching at South Cerney so I took both son and daughter yesterday and they had a great time and caught several Rudd each

They gave them each a free whip which was amazing as well as an allround rig which is already set up BUT I can't work out how to attach it to the whip despite hours o youtube
The whip has no elastic but the rig does......any tips anyone?

We now also have landing nets and have ordered unhooking mats so we will be good to go.

We drove to Twyning lakes today but when I saw all the guys with loads of kit looking professional I lost my nerve and we headed home much to the kids annoyance.....I will try to take them next weekend once we work out how to attach the rig to the whip...

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Glad to hear they enjoyed it.

I'm no expert when it comes to whip and pole fishing. The last time I fished a whip with a flick tip I used a silicone adaptor, much like a modern float adaptor. The type I used aren't available any more, but there are modern equivalents. You simply pick the tightest fit for your tip and glue them on.

However, a rig can be attached to a flick tip with just a couple of bits of silicone tubing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WOZlOud_nc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VUUidYPqbo

howdoifish said:

We drove to Twyning lakes today but when I saw all the guys with loads of kit looking professional I lost my nerve and we headed home much to the kids annoyance

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Most of those that were looking professional would have started out with next to no kit themselves and would I am sure have been pleased to see youngsters starting out in angling, they would if asked would have been happy to show you how to attach your rig.

thecrow said:

Most of those that were looking professional would have started out with next to no kit themselves and would I am sure have been pleased to see youngsters starting out in angling, they would if asked would have been happy to show you how to attach your rig.

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I would go as far as to say that most of those with lots of gear dont use 80% of it or even dont know how to use it...