Introducing children to the joys of fishing

One of the great joys of being a parent, or a grandparent, is being able to spend one on one time with the children and getting them involved with your pastimes or hobbies. Football fans get the ball out at the earliest opportunity and play pass, boxers hold their hands up for the child to punch them, and a darts player will hold the child as they throw. Some hobbies, however, are best introduced to slightly older children, such as fishing.

Keen anglers will regale you for hours about the one that got away, how relaxing it is being alone on a riverbank, or how satisfying it is to catch your own supper. Getting a child interested in fishing can be a very rewarding experience but it will take time and patience because, quite frankly, sitting in silence waiting for a fish to bite is not part of a child’s natural psyche.

Kids love to tag along, if they see someone getting ready to go somewhere they want to go to. If a child sees you regularly getting you fishing gear together and asks to come along let them, it is much better they go because they want to rather than be forced along.

Bear in mind when you first start to introduce a child to fishing there will be much fidgeting, yawning, and saying how bored they are, this what children do and you can’t expect an active child you become still and silent just because you tell them to. Before you set out for a trip, take them through all your tackle and explain what it’s for, this is a good way of gauging their interest before you set foot out the door.

Don’t try and make them interested, if they start off well but then start to get distracted, put the tackle away and do it another day. Get them a fishing net and take them to rock pools or a stream to get the feel for what fun they can have fishing, this is the kind of thing we all have fond memories of from childhood, and whilst many don’t go any further, it does set it many on the path to a passion for angling.

It goes withoutsaying that a small child should never be allowed to bait a hook or cast a line until they are old enough and strong enough, to do it safely. Get a junior rod, cast it for them and let them hold it. Explain that the fish may or may not be hungry, don’t build up their hopes as disappointment is the major reason for children giving up on things. When they do get that first bite it will be a moment to treasure.

Finally, you will have to, at first, adapt your fishing trip to the child rather than the other way around. Even if you are a solitary fisherman who goes out into the wilderness to escape everything, you will have to interact with the child and make it fun. Start with shot trips too and gradually increase the time you are out. Take it slowly and you will soon be spending quality time with the child doing what you enjoy the most.

/*Article by www.kidszine.co.uk*/