I am looking to take my son out fishin' tommorrow. He's 4 1/2 and has been bugging me since I bought a new surf rod. Yesterday I purchased my license w/ the trout stamp (not that I plan on catching any). Figured I will pick him up after school (noon) and let him throw his little spiderman pole in the reservoir near the house. I'm not planning on doing much myself, I want him to enjoy the day plus I havent been freshwater fishin' in about 20 years. Any ideas to make his first trip a good trip??
A smaller body of water with lots of bluegill would probably help. Have they stocked the reservoir with trout lately?(within the last week) If so some corn might help.Try minnows. My son once thought he caught a fish when he pulled his line in to check the bait.Most of all have fun,he wont forget the first time he went fishing with Dad.
Get him a bobber to begin with. He can learn later how to fish without one. Take pictures if/when he catches fish and post them on your fridge and here on G&G.
Take him somewhere gauranteed a catch. Even if its just dinky little ones you throw back. Fishin' is a darn good thing to get hooked on!
bobber and a worm like ox said, cant go wrong especially with a spiderman fishin pole! Hope you guys catch some and have a day you will both always remember!
__________________ Most of my life I've spent hunting,... the rest of it I've just wasted
Small pond. bait up with worms, crickets,etc. Small hook under a float.
A couple of fold-up chairs. Cast the line out, sit back and wait for the happy yelling to start. Have fun.
I have pictures of all 3 of my kids first fish. I agree with the small pond with lots of Bluegill. I still have the Mickey Mouse Bobber I bought my daughter about 20 years ago..I hope you catch a bunch. Don't forget your camera.
__________________ USAF SSgt 80-86 IN GOD WE TRUST NRA MEMBER
Last edited by White Rook; 05-13-2009 at 08:00 AM.
Just got back from fishin'. It went well considering we didnt even get a nibble but no one else caught anything while we were there. We were there about 2 1/2 hours than played on the playground for a little while.
We went to a smaller lake as suggested. The only problem is I dont know much about freshwater fishing ie rigs, lure, bait.... but I spoke to one of the other guys there and he gave me some info.
Sav - I forgot the chairs and had to sit in the grass.
Baser - You need a trout stamp to fish for trout or in a body of water with trout in it here in NJ
Oh by the way, the reel on the spiderman fishing pole broke. Good thing I brought a back up.
Just got back from fishin'. It went well considering we didnt even get a nibble but no one else caught anything while we were there. We were there about 2 1/2 hours than played on the playground for a little while.
We went to a smaller lake as suggested. The only problem is I dont know much about freshwater fishing ie rigs, lure, bait.... but I spoke to one of the other guys there and he gave me some info.
Sav - I forgot the chairs and had to sit in the grass.
Baser - You need a trout stamp to fish for trout or in a body of water with trout in it here in NJ
Oh by the way, the reel on the spiderman fishing pole broke. Good thing I brought a back up.
If you are just fishing to let you son have fun and catch fish, I would suggest using night crawlers or minnows with a bobber. That should do it for Crappie, Bluegill or Bass. I hope he catchs one on your next trip.
__________________ USAF SSgt 80-86 IN GOD WE TRUST NRA MEMBER
If your goal is catching trout then Power Bait is the ticket. Stockers love it because it reminds them of home...
A treble hook with a little ball of Power Bait floating about 18 inches from the bottom seems to work very well. They tend to swallow the hook, so you are pretty much going to keep whatever you catch though.
__________________
"It is useless for the sheep
to pass resolutions in favour of
vegetarianism" ~ R. W. Inge
We were just fishing for fun. We had bread, corn and Gulp brand bait shaped like maggots. I didnt know how far below the bobber the bait should hang. One of the major problems was he would cast, which I was surprised he was able to do, reel in the hook than cast again. Either way he had fun and we were there for 2 1/2 hours without a complaint.
Watching a bobber gets boring and the young ones soon lose interest. His first couple of times out just let him cast and retrieve a while. When he does catch one he'll be hooked for life (pun intended) !! And he'll have you to thank Dad !!
__________________ I keep tellin ya Doc, I'm in pretty good shape considerin the shape I'm in !!
Swede, thats exactly what he was doing. cast and reel it in. I was really surprised we were there as long as we were, about 2 1/2 hours. He didnt make a peep about leaving. We'll see what happens next trip.
When I first took my daughter, and then my son fishing, they loved the cast, reel in, and tangle method. I learned quickly, that a couple of back up rods, ready to go, could keep thier attention longer, and take the pressure off of me to un knot the last one. When they started getting the hang of casting and reeling in with out makeing a mess, the back up rod, would be cast out, with bobber, and left alone to fish. When the bobber danced, I would switch that rod with which ever kids rod that was closest, and let them "catch" the fish.
Can't beat those little mickey mouse rods. short, easy to throw a bunch in a bucket and take anywhere. When they stop working as a reel, I just let the kids use them, and run up the bank with the fish, till I get a chance to see if I can fix them.
