First time fishing

Philip · Dec 5, 2017

I know this has probably been done to death but if you had to take a kid fishing for the first time what sort of angling would you introduce them to ?

Back when I started it was always going to be a float and bait. ..worms, bread maggots, nice simple stuff.

Today I literally have no idea. Would it be “right” to stick on a hair rig ? or would it be better to go with a more traditional Float or ledger ? What bait Maggot or Bolie ?

I imagine commercials would be a good place to start but on the other hand if they catch too many fish on the first trip would that actually put them off as isnt the anticipation all part of it ? ….but then again I don’t want to bore the kid to death either.

All things considered think I would stick to a lake of some sort and use a float with bread or maggots. Something Peter Jacobs said made allot of sense to me and that was to use a whip rather than a rod as taking the reel out of the equation would make things allot easier.

What do you think & what would you organize as a first trip for a youngster ? & anyone with first trip success stories they want to share ?

john step · Dec 5, 2017

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Did just that with my 3 grandaughters when they were a bit younger. Whip/commercial and happy memories.

Another Dave · Dec 5, 2017

I don't think it matters too much as long as the kids have a great time. We started our kids by crabbing at Bournemouth quayside and i couldn't resist the sight of the little blennies or whatever those things are, spotted a tiny tackle shop and bought these horrendous boom things that at least had smallish hooks.

So yeah, handline, 50lb hooklength and a bit of bacon rind was the initial setup.

rich66 · Dec 5, 2017

My lads all started down the canal with a whip and maggots, tiddler catching.

laguna · Dec 6, 2017

Philip said:
I know this has probably been done to death but if you had to take a kid fishing for the first time what sort of angling would you introduce them to ?

Back when I started it was always going to be a float and bait. ..worms, bread maggots, nice simple stuff.

Today I literally have no idea. Would it be “right” to stick on a hair rig ? or would it be better to go with a more traditional Float or ledger ? What bait Maggot or Bolie ?

I imagine commercials would be a good place to start but on the other hand if they catch too many fish on the first trip would that actually put them off as isnt the anticipation all part of it ? ….but then again I don’t want to bore the kid to death either.

All things considered think I would stick to a lake of some sort and use a float with bread or maggots. Something Peter Jacobs said made allot of sense to me and that was to use a whip rather than a rod as taking the reel out of the equation would make things allot easier.

What do you think & what would you organize as a first trip for a youngster ? & anyone with first trip success stories they want to share ?

I would suggest a kiddie pond or canal with ****** all in it, then progress to a river with ****** all in it, then a club lake with hardly anything in it, then a runs water and ask him after 12 months what he likes best.

Having sampled everything, he can then make his own mind up.
Chances are he will enjoy the challenge of catching fewer fish!

Hopefully!

Philip · Dec 6, 2017

Loved Johns post as that really captures it.

Thing is when I went fishing as a kid we basically always struggled and rarely caught anything so it was always a big deal if we did actually catch something even if it was a 1oz Roach.

I wonder if a bit of struggle at the start leads to the chances of someone becoming a long term angler later on...but of course sitting there catching nothing could knock the interest on the head from the start.

I think catching something with the anticipation of something perhaps bigger might be a good all round compromise. I have vivid memories of my first fishing trip catching minnows which were of course suicidal from a stream but seeing much large darker shapes in the shadow of the far bank trees drifting by which were Roach, Dace and Chub of a few ounzes but they seemed uncatchable monsters to me. It certainly fired me up to have another go.

laguna · Dec 6, 2017

Philip, there's always a chance kids will get bored from not catching. Isn't that kind of the idea though?, they learn more about themselves and they love nothing more than to learn... A journey of self discovery! Either they quit or decide to home their skills and test their bounds of perseverance?

We literally went months without catching at first, its what spurred me and my mate on (God rest his soul) to learn more and practice at every opportunity we could.. and no father to speak of or adults to teach us.
Who knows, kids might eventually go on to become carpers but instant carpers quickly lose interest from what I see these days.

They need an apprenticeship if they are to stay the course.

Philip · Dec 6, 2017

laguna said:
They need an apprenticeship if they are to stay the course.

I think thats pretty much it Chris ...I think its trying to find the balance between keeping them interested but not making it too easy either.

laguna · Dec 6, 2017

I'd say so mate.

pratty117 · Dec 7, 2017

As has already been mentioned, you do need a degree of instant action to stop any early interest waning. When I've taken my godson fishing we've always had a great time and not always caught loads. Some of the excitement for him has been preparing for the trip, making lunch, tying rigs and packing the gear. I fished a small pond about two months back and there was a chap there with his son ( around 8 years old). I got talking to both of them. The young lad mentioned he hadn't slept all night due to the excitement of coming fishing the next day. It was great to hear! If you can breed this enthusiasm at an early age it certainly bodes well I think. Much better out fishing than glued to an ipad or xbox!!

jasonbean1 · Dec 7, 2017

those were the days as a youngster, not sleeping because of the excitement...still cant sleep, that's because I spend most of the night peeing in the toilet

mg:

Philip · Dec 7, 2017

jasonbean1 said:
those were the days as a youngster, not sleeping because of the excitement...still cant sleep, that's because I spend most of the night peeing in the toilet

Sorry but I had to laugh. Look on the bright side...if your already up at least you can make an early start.

True that as a kid I would literally be so excited I could not sleep before a fishing trip. I still look forward to them which is pretty amazing really when I think about it & says allot about the sport.

Long may that continue.

thecrow · Dec 7, 2017

I started my lads fishing on a small syndicate water I belonged to, it was full of roach perch crucians and the odd carp turned up to liven things up, they were allowed to wander around the water stalking fish in the lots of small inlets they caught lots but also learned lots about watching fish and keeping quiet.

JackGE · Dec 9, 2017

My first memory of fishing was with a garden pole, the kind used to allow plants to grow upright, some string and a safety pin with bread as bait. I absolutely loved it and it was so simple. Then I moved onto a float rod with my dad and fished the waggler with maggots and worms. I personally think that float fishing is a great start as you can usually get quite a lot of action, waiting for that float to move. Maybe even some freelined bread, it's such a great feeling seeing them come up for your bait.

If you're chucking out boilies on bite alarms, they may get a bit fed up of sitting and waiting. Just a thought.

binka · Dec 10, 2017

Long before my fishing started with rod & line I would be off at every opportunity, as a four or five year old, to my local park where the tiny River Maun runs through and I would spend long summer days catching minnows and sticklebacks with a net and a bucket.

Things were very much different back then and kids around here 'played out' at that age much more than nowadays.

I can still vividly remember scooping my net around a small slack between two rocks and finding what I didn't know at the time to be a tiny perch which in turn had a minnow wedged and completely gorged in its mouth.

I knew I'd landed something special even if I didn't know what it was and I can still remember thinking how 'dry' it felt compared to the other fish.

Happy days indeed but I don't miss what where at the time permanent chafe marks on the backs of my calfs where the top of my wellies would rub away below the line of my shorts

laguna · Dec 10, 2017

Steve, we were that poor we were 'all set' for fishing any time of year... we all wore wellies, even in summer!

Except on Whit Sunday of course

Philip · Dec 10, 2017

I think letting kids wander around is important as well. I know as a kid I got bored stiff sitting in one spot for more than 5mins and I would take a walk and try different spots.

One vivid memory was when i was taken to the royalty as a kid just starting out...they stuck me in one of the deep pools but I got bored straight away and so went off for a wander and spent the day chasing minture fry in the crystal clear margins on bits of cheese and getting really frustrated as I could not get it to stay on the hook. However I found it allot more exciting being able to see the fish I was trying to catch than fishing "blind" in the Pool.

First time fishing

Philip

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john step

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Another Dave

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laguna

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laguna

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