teaching youg anglers

ol red eyes · #1 08-03-2006, 01:14 PM

Hi all, wondered if anyone has advice on introducing and teaching young children to fish.My 8 yr old has pestered me long enough! he can now swim and that was the deal. I only fly fish these days and have not course fished for 20ish years, I know the basics are the same but would it be better to buy him a childs kit or a small pole (something I am unfamiliar with). He is very keen, but I dont want to dampen this enthusiasm with complicated, or worse unsuccessful experiences at this early stage. Any tips would be much appreciated.

many thanks
ORE

Greenheart · #2 08-03-2006, 04:07 PM

Found a few starter kit links for you Red Eyes. A big mistake is to buy gear that is too cheap & nasty that a child will struggle with as this will put them off for life. A good place to learn would be any heavily stocked commercial fishery where fish are easy to hook & they don't have time to get bored. Carp fisheries that have lots of small freely biting fish are good. A tin of sweetcorn will usually provide an effective & cheap bait that is easy for a youngster to cope with. Good luck.
http://www.bosfish.co.uk/PRODUCTS/ou...e800coarse.htm
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geffski · #3 08-03-2006, 09:56 PM

yeah like ian says, hit a easy commercial with loads of roach knocking about!
but a good old pint of maggots will get him straight into the fish!
sive 14 barbless hook and a waggler set on the bottom or just about anywhere above if you feed regularly about every 10 mins and speed it up with fewer amounts as you start catching!(get them competing)
i know alot of decent fisherman that started out with an argos kit!!!
hasnt done them any harm as you know its a big learning curve
and it has to appear that he is doing it him self if you know wot i mean!

hook em will ther young!!!!

ol red eyes · #4 08-04-2006, 08:37 AM

thanks guys,
off to stapeley water gardens sunday where he can try out rods etc. should be fun, cheers
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eljeffo · #5 08-05-2006, 09:38 AM

I think it's wonderful that you want to teach him to fish! He'll remember that for the rest of his life and hopefully they're all great thoughts! Cheers!

biggun · #6 08-05-2006, 06:27 PM

I found that with my son and I both being new to this fishing lark, that joining a local club with a junior section has been a great help.
Now he can show me what to do

cuckoo · #7 08-05-2006, 08:47 PM

Getting kids interested in fishing or any other interest theses days is a must ,
with so little for them to do on estates and boredam setting in so quick ,
we want our kids growing up with knowledge of a sport or an interest and keeping at it,....
i dont mean pushing them into it but supporting it !!!!!!
what im trying to say is i have 3 young girls ,
and i will support them in anything they decide to put their interest in,
ranging from karate to flower arranging it might not last long ,
then their move on to another hair brained scheme lol !!!!
but support it !!!!!!!,
eventually they will find a interest and stick to it ,
i do everything i can to keep my kids off the street (for want of a better word),
but my eldest is now nearly 15 and a pillar of our community,
polite ,courteous , great with money lol (shes tight )
but it works !!!!!!!!
shes not perfect by any means ,
but shes a good girl
and now after finding her right interest ,
she is a great vocalist !!!!!!!

and im dead proud !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

cheers lee.

stevecollier · #8 08-05-2006, 09:07 PM

I started my son fishing when he was 8 and he's loved it ever since. He'd pestered me for ages to take him and I laid out the ground rules before we went - basically stick to our own peg, don't run around and don't disturb the other anglers. As per the above posts, keep him catching and he'll be happy -he's 16 now and in two weeks we're off to Canada for some carp(hopefully).

cuckoo · #9 08-05-2006, 09:13 PM

Well done steve

cheers lee.

tat · #10 08-13-2006, 09:07 PM

One of the best things you can do is teach your kids a hobby.Fishing is great as my 14 yr old son caught his first fish at 6,a 2 1/2lb rainbow,he's been going ever since.
He got half a dozen of his mates interested as well and the couple that still go meet at a little pond near us every now and then for a friendly match.I won't say they are all perfect,but they're a lot more perfect than most of the chavs round here.
He has also got his cousin intersted in fluff chucking,and if the weather is right next w/e,they're off to do a bit.He's borrowing my gear and lending his cousin his(God help me).

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