Where have the youngsters gone?

Neil and I were fishing a little Trout lake yesterday.

After lunch (well a couple of beers to be honest at the local pub) we got back to the lake and it was so good to see 3 'Dads' together with their daughters, all between about 6 and 10, out for a fishing trip.

I've seen a fair few children on trout lakes over the last year or so, but rarely can remember seeing youngsters fishing with Dad on coarse venues.

Years ago it was common place, but today it is a rare occurance - sadly.

So, why do we not attract young kids to the sport these days?

To many 'other' attractions for them?

The competition is huge Pete. Nintendo/xbox, 100's of telly channels many aimed solely at kids, this here interweb and other forms of technology, not to mention increased pressure from school in terms of coursework, then thereare the old favourites like footy and other sports.

However I also think that parents are less likely to allow younger kids away for a day at the water now.

Peter , I was rather pleased to see a dad and his young son fishing for carp two weeks on the trot but it wasn`t what it seemed , the boy had a couple of takes, the father would come over and take control of the rod not help the lad , which seemed to indicate to me that the father was fishing four rods under the guise of his son fishing ./forum/smilies/angry_smiley.gif

We'renot finding that Peter; in my club junior membership has increased year on year for the last 5-6 years. Junior membership costs are kept low and we introducedan intermediate membership (17 to 21 year olds) to keep the interest. A jump from £10 to £50 can be too high at 17 especially when there are so many other distractions to tempt them away from angling.

We have provided easily accessible waters (on a bus route) with plenty of fish. With a secure fishery with locked access and very close to what was (so claimed) the largest private housing development in the country, parents know their kids are safe (as they can ever be) and where they are.

Added to that a senior member can take their children/grandchildren up to 16 years of age F.O.C. They can also take their wife/partner but not many take up that option./forum/smilies/wink_smiley.gif Several of the senior carp anglers often take their kids on a 2/3 day session in the summer months. One even made a portable shower unit to keep them clean.

The only restrictions we impose on the juniors is that they can not fish after sunset unless accompanied by an adult member.

Peter, it's amazing that it was 3 daughters and their dads.

I suppose fly fishing is clean, one rod and reel, box of flies and leader material. Hardest thing is the casting. Down side is the price of the fishing.

Have seen plenty of young kids, early teens going fishing this weekend. No dads though.

to me, the less people fishing at my venues the better /forum/smilies/wink_smiley.gif

i could be considered a kid i suppose (aged 15) and i go fishing alone most weekends

So, why do we not attract young kids to the sport these days?

I could write a book? starting with the decline of `ponds` where I first started at 10 and even if they existed farmers would ban it for fear of litigation if little Johny or Susan fell in and got wet

And yes other `cool` things to do?

`Multi tasking` is a newish term but how come folks of my age(55) could play sport,go to youth clubs,fish and still have time to chat up girls??

Fair play Clive but unless we get more kids into our sport it will die , once us older " kids " hang up our rods for good , where does that leave the sport , less clubs waters or waters taken over by water sports .

If you are still fishing in 30 years time , you may struggle to find a water which allows fishing unless we get some young blood into the sport now ./forum/smilies/i_dont_know_smiley.gif/forum/smilies/crying_smiley.gif

Otters, the otters have eaten them all, only last week I saw a cormorant with a pair of kidslegs hanging from its mouth

<blockquote class=quoteheader>Morespiders (ACA) wrote (see)</blockquote><blockquote class=quote>Otters, the otters have eaten them all, only last week I saw a cormorant with a pair of kidslegs hanging from its mouth</blockquote>
When i were a lad,me and me mates would have climbed the trees,got the otters eggs and blew em!!..............

Even the ones that get a starter fishing kit and turn up at the local lakes and pondsget ridiculed by us the older anglers. How many posts have we all read on here about the argos brigade and some kids with cheap kit ruined my days fishing etc etc.

If we want to get kids back into fishing then its time that they need to be given, our time and our experience

When was the last time any one of us gave up an hour of our fishing time to help out the kids without a net or with a massive float sticking three inches out of the water, or the rich kid with his £250 starter kit but no un hooking mat and no idea what he was doing.

First we must get the kids to the water then we must give them our time.

We must all know someone, a friend at work or a neighbour who has children, ask them what they are doing next weekend I bet they would love us to get their kids out from the playstation and take them fishing for a day.

We could always organise a regional fish in for our areas and take a neighbours or friends kid fishing .

I know a great venue for just such a day out, so if anyone from Rugby or the surrounding area is up for it get posting, find a kid, lend em some kit and take em fishing.

<blockquote class=quoteheader></blockquote>
<blockquote class=quoteheader>trev (100M bronze) wrote (see)</blockquote><blockquote class=quote>

Even the ones that get a starter fishing kit and turn up at the local lakes and pondsget ridiculed by us the older anglers. How many posts have we all read on here about the argos brigade and some kids with cheap kit ruined my days fishing etc etc.

If we want to get kids back into fishing then its time that they need to be given, our time and our experience

When was the last time any one of us gave up an hour of our fishing time to help out the kids without a net or with a massive float sticking three inches out of the water, or the rich kid with his £250 starter kit but no un hooking mat and no idea what he was doing.

First we must get the kids to the water then we must give them our time.

We must all know someone, a friend at work or a neighbour who has children, ask them what they are doing next weekend I bet they would love us to get their kids out from the playstation and take them fishing for a day.

We could always organise a regional fish in for our areas and take a neighbours or friends kid fishing .

I know a great venue for just such a day out, so if anyone from Rugby or the surrounding area is up for it get posting, find a kid, lend em some kit and take em fishing.</blockquote>


Ifonly....in this sick world of ours things were so simple...................i tried exactly whatyou suggest when my lad belonged to the local scout troop, the local troop were all for it,they knew me..........................but they had to put me through the police "search"..............................i wasn't good as a teenager, but i passed and did go on to help out..................but how many would think, "i don't need this,sod it"?

Sad...............

i take 2 of my 3 regularly, also got my brother in law taking his daughter and son.

local club are very keen to get kids fishing.

i never take the rods off the kids, i tell them what to do when needed, but thats not very often now. my 7year old has landed carp to high singles on 4lb line while float fishing for roach. my 10 year old has had them to mid doubles on the same set up.

they love it, and watching them struggle makes me laugh every time.

in fact

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/album.php?aid=18768&id=1347684530

if its right, thats my last trip.

the boy with the cap is diagnosed autistic, im waiting for my son to be diagnosed with something similar.

Peter I think it's a regional thing as well. Access to waters close to where they live is also important. Now the weather's starting to warm up and the kids are on hols, they'll be back on the canal near me, as they will on all the canals around the NW.

I fished some new pools of one the clubs I'm in today. Young kid came with his dad to have look, with a view to fishing it tomorrow. 50 questions and the Spanish Inquisition from the kid in the ten minutes he was there.

He'll be back tomorrow, having given him the SP on it. And the point is he'll catch plenty of small fish as wellbeinga good bits water, withthe chance of hooking a better fish. Sadly that fish is likely to be a small carp /forum/smilies/surprised_smiley.gif4 oz to 1 lb, as the club have stocked them recently.

Phil,

I think you could be right about a regional difference.

On my way back from Avington yesterday I stopped off at two of my local 'commercial lakes and saw just 2 youngsters, probably around 12 or 13 years of age. But, these were obviously 'into' fishing judging from the poles they were using.

On my local rivers you rarely see a young angler despite the fact that a couple of the local clubs (and big clubs at that) run children's weekends for absolute beginners.

It is really good though to read of the initiatives taken by John H's club.

i fished on a local holiday park yesterday, (my mother owns a caravan on site, so i fish for free on a members pass, lol) and the turnover of kids was incredible.

everywhere you looked there was another kid turning up, all had the same exact gear, (local market tackle stall beginners kit for about £15, float gear on a telescopic rod) and every one of them was loving it. fishing maggot for bits (the pond is currently a giant shoal of 2-3 inch roach with better fish beneath) they were all having a great time, the underlying problem seemed to be that the dads would be with them, fine for an hour, but then daddy needed to go to the pub, so the kids had to pack up, and boy did they kick off.

it left me with the impression that soon the only anglers left would be sons/daughters of anglers, cos everybody elses parents wont put in the time to let them develop a taste/passion for the sport.

Peter,

It is all down to one thing. Carp. These days everything has to be big and loud in all areas of life. There are so many overstocked carp waters these days that youngsters go straight into carp fishing instead of graduating to larger fish. The carp in these waters are so easy to catch that they soon get bored and pack fishing in. I often meet youngsters who used to fish for carp for a couple of years then packed up. I was talking to one a couple of weeks ago who had caught carp to 10lb and said he packed up because he had better things to do. He is a bright lad and I think he may have found fishing more interesting if it had been more of a challenge. He had heard about my 8lb 8oz chub and asked if it was a big fish?? Perhaps if we had more mixed fisheries instead of carp puddles it may be better for keeping youngsters interested.

I took my son & daughter fishing from an early age, even though it mean't that I didn't get any fishing done on my own account. My daughter now 23 goes fishing occasionally with her boyfriend, who is a keen twitcher, and my son fishes more than I do now.

I think that fishing is one of those pastimes that needs a "mentor", so that the youngster can become a successful fisherman on his or her own, as fishing is a lot more fun if you catch a few. I have also converted a couple of my son's mates into keen fishermen too, whose parent's do not fish, this is when you find all of that tackle you don't use any more useful.

My son and his mates started on commercials, predominantly Bake Lakes, and Tony who runs the place is great with the youngsters.

The problem is that when kids are young they need loads of time & attention, and these days that seems a commodity that is in very short supply.

Having a young son myself (he's 9 years old) i have tried to introduce him to the sport of fishing.

However, on the days off he gets from school, he is mostly interested in playing with his mates or sitting on his PS3or Xbox 360, where they can go online and play against mates from all over the world. They're dry and safe and can eat, drink, go to the toilet whenever they want and they don't even have to get out of there pyjama's lol.

I myself enquired to a local well known day ticket fishery to see about getting fishing lessons for myself as i was not confident in my own abilities to be able teach my son the correct methods of waggler, and feeder fishing. I got a reply from the instructor and he was more than willing to teach me what i wanted to know, which was great, however the down side was he wanted £50.00p an hour. I can't afford to pay that so i declined the offer.

I have since made friends with a local angler who is my age and him and his dad have been educating me in Waggler and Feeder fishing as there knowledge is much greater than my own, OH and it's free.

I guess kids don't go fishing for several reasons, Money, Time, Mate don't Fish, Computer Games, Bloody awful Weather (try getting decent water proofs for kids) that are warm aswell.A lot ofparents work shifts which mean they work weekends, and kids are at school in the week.

The few occasions that i have took my son fishing he's enjoyed it when catching fish, but hates the boring bit inbetween catches.

Anyway, these are my thoughts.

Tight Lines /forum/smilies/devil_smiley.gif

The biggest battle will always be getting them to the venue. Once there you can have their complete attention if you teach them right and explain how and why things work to catch fish instead of just letting them crack on making the same mistakes time and time again.

Time, knowledge and patience.