Conference wahoo::fishing

    Don,
    
      I gave my son a zebco 202 for his third birthday this spring. He
    has not killed it yet and has even caught some bass. He is still not
    patitent enough to hold the rod for more than a couple of minutes
    between fish but can fight them and reel them in just fine.
    Next summer he get his chance on the SWEET DREAM II. And eventually
    I will custom build him a rod or two. Take a bucket to let the
    fish swim around. Kids love to play with them. The first times
    outs my son did not really want to touch the fish, now he picks
    them right up. The fish go back in the pond once we are done (although
    he wants to take them home for dinner).
    
    Have fun.
    
    Bruce

    
    	Don,I had my son fishing since he was 3 1/2-4 yrs old  and my
    experience with him was to find a kiver hole for lots of action.I do
    the casting and tell him to watch the bobber and he does the reeling.
    As far as the pole,I bought him a 3 foot pole with a push button spin
    cast reel.I also put a pole life jacket on,( I know what,s a pole life
    jacket? ).Well it is this little thing that you tie wrap to the
    pole,and when it gets submerge in water,it releases this little buoy
    with about 40 feet of line attached to it.
    
    	So if the pole goes overboard,wait a couple of minutes for the buoy
    to surface and pull the pole back up.They are available from BPS for a
    couple of dollars. Btw they work very well.
    
    	Remember kids have a real short attention span,so no fish means
    they get bored very quickly.Tim is almost 6 yrs old and he is more
    interested in driving the boat than fishing now.
    
    
    	Good luck to you and your small fishing partner.
    
    	Frenchy 

    I like the suggestions in .2, 
    
    For what it's worth, I've bought the kids zebco spincast set ups and
    been rather disapointed.  (cheap & break easy)  My little ones
    have more fun dragging the tip sections of a old broken rods in the 
    water and splashing the water with a bobber around than anything else.
    The kids and I "made" our fishing rods as follows:  I took the tips
    from a couple of old broken rods and cut them down to about 2 1/2 - 3
    ft.  I left the guides as they were and made the handles from empty  
    spools of  thread.  (butted one against the other and expoxy in place)
    I covered the spools with some leftover bike handle bar tape.  
    
    With 3-4' of heavy mono and a red and white bobber and you're in business.
    We all had fun with the project.
    
    Oh yes, one other item.  I set a small eye screw in expoxy in the base of each 'rod' and tie
    a 2' section of string to the screw eye and a small clip.   The clip
    gets anchored to the life jacket or thwart or anything else that's 
    handy.
    
    						Harlan
    

   I bought my two year old a fisher price rod for his Birthday. I think it
   lasted a week. It end up with line knotted inside the reel. Now I just tie
   a bit of line to the end and put a bobber on it. That keeps him amused. He
   does still have this idea that they way to catch a fish is to throw the rod
   at it...
   
   Mostly he just loves to play with the plastic  worms...
   
   q
   

     Give him one of your rigs and buy an "All Star" for yourself to
    replace it.
    
    __The Skoal Bandit

    Heres my experience with my daughter.....
    
    Until they get to about five they basically just like to be out with
    dad and dub in the water, chase frogs, get wet muddy, play with the
    fish and generally be kiddish...dont plan on fishing much yourself
    during these years....just enjoy!
    
    I started ny daughter (now 7 soon 8) with a cane pole, bobber and
    worms at about three. She caught a few but the attention span is just
    not there. At five she graduated to a "reel pole"..the  same antique zebco 
    33 and rod I used when I was ten (long ago)...and learned basic reeling
    in, landing fish by brute force (no play here) and some rough casting. At 
    six she was primarily interested in turtles and frogs and dubbing again.
    
    This year I took her out and hooked up a couple three pound smallmouth
    and handed her the flyrod.....landing those definitely got her interest
    and now she is up to actively stripping dry and wet flies with my rod
    after I cast the fly out.....learning how to manage her flyline to keep
    slack out and hooking and playing the odd bass/trout.
    
    I think they need to know what to do if and when they have a strike
    or hook a fish before they need to learn to cast real well as casting
    out but not being able to hook and land one is very frustrating at that
    age. Now she is begging me to teach her to flycast so she can "do it
    all myself..DAD...!!"....and I think she has enough coordination to 
    manage it with a little coaching and she will be getting a workable
    flyfishing outfit for birthday next month....
    
    It does depend a lot on the kids desire to actually fish and catch
    something..of course flyfishing is MUCH more demanding that the other
    forms...but also more rewarding in the long run....;*)....mumble
    mumble...
    
     Tight lines
    
        Ed

    	My daughter has been fishing with me for 2 seasons now.  She's 4
    now.  I bought here one of those Fisher Price set ups last year.  It
    was the correct size for her to use and she did allright with it.  The 
    first few times out I'd put a gitzit on her line and just let enough
    out to drag the bottom.  After many snaggs I smarten up and used
    Gitzits with a weed guard on the hook.  
    
    	Like someone else mentioned earlier, Korey was more intrested in
    being out in the boat than actual fishing.  I did how ever get some 
    worms a few times out and let her catch some kivers.  I'd have to cast
    it, set the hook, then give her the rod to reel the fish in.  She did
    pretty well in reeling the line in and it gor to the point that
    everytime I casted it out she'd reel it right back in.  So it was
    pretty tough to concentrate on fishing myself.  Her last fish of the 
    season was a 14" bass she caught on a gitzit and reeled in all by
    herself (god only knows how the heck she set the hook on this fish)
    
    	The rod and reel didn't last. They're poor quality and I'm sure
    the few times the thing got dropped in the water didn't help.  But as I 
    said earlier they're the right size for little folks.  This spring I'm
    out in the driveway practicing with my bait caster, Korey ask me to
    teach her to do that with her rod and reel.  I said honey your to
    little.  Like all kids she kept pestering me and I finally gave in.
    
    	I was amazed after about 15 minutes of coaching she could actually 
    cast a practice plug foward (although with no consistancy and any idea
    of where it was going).  Well much to my wife's dismay she's out there 
    wanting to do this all the time and getting better an better.  So the
    first time out this year she's able to cast.
    
    	GREAT now dad can concentrate on fishing, WRONG!!  She keeps
    casting over my line (I've finally broken her of this habit).  She used
    the Fisher Price set up for a while. But she was starting to be able to
    catch fish and the reel would wind backwards everytime I tried to show
    her how to set the hook when the boober went under.  So with some of
    the money I got from the Quinsig night tourny, I bought her one of
    those 4 1/2 ' Southbend setups (probably the equivilent to a Zebco 202.
    
    	She does real well with this and it even has real drag for the
    reel.  She can cast out and reel in withever she's fishing with OK.  
    There's no acuracy to her casting,she just tries to throw out as far as
    she can so I keep her at one end of the boat.  She can set the hook but 
    the fish win out more than she does.  So I'm pretty happy she's capable 
    enough to fish without much assistance and very rarely complains.  But
    I make sure that I've got snacks for her and bring along some coloring
    books.  Another thing that seem to help is I gave her her own small
    tackle box.  It's stuffed with all the old busted worms,gitzits, ect. 
    Kids sem to love the colors and just having them.  She'll dump them all
    out and look at the different colors for hours and it keeps her
    entertained.
    
    	But don't get me wrong there's still many time where she hooks
    something in the boat, spills her juice all over the deck, gets the
    line tangled, ect. ect.  But all and all she doesn't sound as bad as
    some of the horror stories I've heard my friends say with their kids.
    I'd say let their intrest and skill dictate what you'd buy for them and
    every kid is going to be different.  Use live bait and a bobber and
    they'll learn quicker and thier intrest will increase dramatically. 
    Korey ask me in front of the wife to go fishing all the time now.  Gee
    Deb I'd like to stay home and do the work around the house but hey I
    can't disappoint Korey.  

    Great subject!!!
    
    My experence with kids fishing has been you first need and great deal
    of patience.  After you master that then the fun begins. We have been
    taking my children ages 13 and 9 fishing for 9 years.  Yes the boy was
    a tiny baby laying in a carseat with the life jacket strapped on.
    We began with cane poles and worms (look out the boy was a Lash LaRue)
    and then advanced to Bream Busters.  The greatest thrill was watching
    the boy then 6 catch a 1 lb.+ Bluegill with a 10 ft. Bream Buster as
    slender as a whip the tip of the pole came down below the handle and
    he turned around 3 times in the boat screaming I've got one! before he
    could land it.  This past Christmas we bought the Zebco 404 set up and
    so far it has survivied.  The boy is he** on wheels and the reel 
    is still alive so IMHO Zebco's ok.  He has not caught any thing yet
    but can hit any target he wants.
    
    Debbie
    

    
    Yo,
    
    I think everyone who has tried to fish with small children knows it
    is alot of work! I love taking my son out- he just turned 2, he goes
    nuts. The problem I have is that everytime I cast it out for him he
    thinks he has to reel it in. I usually put small shiners on and let him
    watch the bobber. He caught a small bass- 10 inches once and he was
    so excited-"LOOK BIG FISH!" that is his favorite saying, I never
    laughed so hard. 
    
    It's alot of work chasing the little monster- but I wouldn't trade
    those times for the world. Pretty soon he'll be older and we can
    get back to some reel fishing!!
    
    I am glad my dad always had time for me!!
    
    
    Wildman
       

     Another person to here from.
    
    I have to admit reading some of these replies makes me wish my son
    was a little old then he is now ( 2 months old). I can't wait until
    next year when he is old enough to go on the boat with dad. Then
    the following year get into fishing. Righ now though I will tell
    you about the experiance I had trying to teach my 2 nephews how
    to fish. I live on lake ripple so I just have to go out my back
    doors to do some fishing. I had the 2 boys over one day (ages 4
    and 5) and I was out just fooling around with some rubber worms.
    The boys saw me fishing and asked if they could try it. I said 
    yes and got both of the a zebco (I have 2 of the for my inlaws to
    use when they come over). I went out and bought a dozen worms so
    the could catch something (anything). I was showing each of them
    how to cast and they both wanted to try it by themselfs. Well, the
    first cast they made, one hooked me in the back of my leg and the
    other hooked me in the back of my jacket. After that the both had
    fun catching kivers. Of course my wife and I laughed at what happened
    and my brother-inlaw laughed when he heard of it. All this happened
    last year. 
    
    Guess what uncle Tommy and Auntie Paulette bought the boys for
    Christmas.
    
       They each recieved Zebco rod and reels and a small tackle box
    with rubber worms. They even used them this year and the both
    caught fish. The youngest one caught a 14" brown trout and cryed
    when DADDY said he couldn't take it home and show mommy. Dad did
    give in and now the boy even has a picture of his fish.
    
    Come on son, lets go fishing.
    
           Bartender (T.Z.) watch for me on the 30th.

 My little girl will be trying fishing for the first time next year. She is
now 19 months old. I have been priming her for the big day- we watch a fishing
show or two every saturday morning on ESPN, and she loves my magazines. 
Everytime we go over water on a bridge she says "A boat!" and she loves to look
at my magazines and say "fishy. oooooh!"

 I can't wait to take her out. Thanks for the tips (coloring books etc).

 The Doctah

     I hate to make you all shutter at the thought....but there is a 
    Legend Jr.
    
     My sons name is Joshua.  He loves fishing as much as we do. When
    he was a toddler I use to take him down the road where there was a
    pond loaded with sunfish.  He was hooked from day one.
    
     Now he is eight and has an EGO bigger than me.  He DOES NOT believe
    in the Legend.  The last time we went out...I had my video camera,
    so I have it on film.  He made a cast towards the shore and caught 
    some brush...I said, "Watch what your doing so you can avoid doing
    that."  He replied, "Well, you taught me how to cast...maybe your
    not the Legend you think you are."
    
     After BEATING HIM SENSELESS we had a great day.....and as usual, he
    caught two fish...Legend caught ZIP!
    
     A few years back we were at Great Herring Pond down by the canal for a
    week.  My friend and I fished morning, noon and night and never getting
    a bite.  All week Joshua kept stating, "Just take me out with you and
    I'll show you we they are."  I finally gave up and told steve, the hell
    with it...I'm going out with Josh.  We went out and he caught 17 FISH
    in one hour.
    
     Thus, Junior Legend was born.  On the way back in he said he was the
    new Legend.  Luckily, my friend Steve was with us so he hit me with a 
    paddle...which caused me to lose my grip on Josh as I held him under
    the water.
       
     We are doing much better as a team now.  I've excepted the fact he has
    inherited my EXPERT SKILLS in fishing.  I bought him a top notch
    Shimano spinning reel and rod last year.  And he uses it like it was
    part of his body, NOT AS GOOD AS I DO...but he is good!
    
      When he was born I ordered a RED BASS PRO hat.  He wore that hat from 
    the age of three all the way to the first year of school.  It is too
    small now....but I have it and plan to give it to his son someday.  For
    you guys who have small children, I strongly recommend you get some
    type of hate and do the same.  That hat is one of my most prized 
    possessions.
    
      My daughter Stacy use to fish with me all the time also.  But she is
    14....and there are other things on her mind now!  That story is for
    another file...like DAD's NEW HEADACHE!
    
    								
    							John

John,
	Legend Jr. that is a scary thought but hey someone has to continue the 
legacy.  I forgot about the hat thing.  I did the same with my daughter, but 
bought her one of the Terminal Angler hat's.  She's kind of lost intrest in it
though.  Giving her her own tackle box and letting her keep all the ripped and
torn rubber worms is now her pride and joy.

	So I should enjoy this now because when 14 rolls around she won't want 
to go fishing with Dad????? Naw she'd never do that to me would she??  Next
season my oldest son will get out there with us.  He'll almost be 3 by then.
A 5 and a 3 year old out in the boat at the same time, I must be insane!!!!

					Madd Matt

    
    We started with zebco 202s and they are cr*p in my opinion - they both
    were in pieces after the kids' first 2 trips and weren't used 5 minutes
    before the kids got bored, set them down in the sand and took to
    throwing sticks and rocks into the lake.
    
    Plan 2 involved buying a cheap shakespeare spinning outfit ($20).  The
    reel is sturdy (though heavy) and the rod is wood (!!!).  I taught my
    oldest to cast in the backyard at the age of 4 before I took him
    fishing again.  We tried live bait (worms) as we had with the zebcos
    but Brian was so into casting and retrieving that the fish never had a
    chance.  I switched him to mepps spinners and small spinnerbaits and
    he's enjoyed himself ever since.  At 9, he's probably still too
    impatient to stare at a bobber for a minute.  He has a tacklebox and a
    basspro t-shirt he wears fishing (and to school).  I'm not so sure
    that, at 14, his thoughts will be on anything but girls.  But, later,
    when his hormone slow down again I imagine fishing will be as important
    as it is now at 9.
    
    The other 2 are not interested enough to acquire the minimum amount of
    skill necessary to match my lack of patience.  I have a jigging rod I
    use for ice fishing - a Normark Thrumming rod (??) that works fine for
    them from the boat.  I put a bobber, hook and worm on it and they push
    a button to release the line and reel in when the bobber goes under. 
    It wouldn't work from shore but over a weedbed out on the lake there's
    usually small bluegill and crappie that will come right up to the boat
    for a juicy earthworm.
    
    One final note.  I stopped giving plastic worms to my kids when my
    wife started complaining about the stains they left on the ceiling.  It
    seems the kids like to throw them up and see how long they'll stick to
    the ceiling.  If your kids haven't tried this, you probably don't want
    to suggest it.
    
    -SSS-

    I found a rod for my (20 month old) son in my basement.  It's an old
    heavy plastic collapsable rod (about 2' long) with a Berkley spincast
    reel.  I think it's going to workout well.  I gave it to him this
    morning and he loved it.  I was suprized how well he could wind the
    handle with minimal coaching. I think he'll be able to reel in a fish
    soon. 
    
    Scott (that's his name) enjoys playing with plastic worms as well.  But
    his favorite lure/toy is a flashy gold Bomber Long A, it's large and
    rattles real well. I removed the hooks on one a couple of weeks ago
    and gave it to him as a toy, he really enjoys it.
    
    Right now the reel does not have any line on it, tonight I may put on
    2-3 feet of heavy line and tie on the bomber so he can see how it all
    works.
    
    I figure I'll let him play with 'his rod' on the boat and cast out
    another spincast rod with a worm and bobber, and hand him the rigged
    rod if and when a fish is hooked.
    
    Sorta on the same subject, while in New Orleans (DECUS) we came across
    a toy store that had computer generated personalized books. One was
    'my fishing adventure' and was about a father and son (or daughter I
    guess) that are magically transformed into 'fishing bears' and fish a
    tournament together.  Naturally we got one, it's real cute.  It was
    obvious from the book that it was issued by, or at least influenced
    by, Bass Pro Shops.  I noticed the other day that BPS offers the same
    (or very similar) book through their catalog.  He'll proabbly enjoy
    the book even more after he starts fishing.
    
    I can relate to the 'liking the fish' references that people have made.
    Recently I've brought home some crappie and Scott wanted to 'pet' the 
    'nice fish'.  He also enjoyed eating them!  This first time out we
    probably will be catching panfish or bass, so they will be released,
    after a short stay in the livewell so they can be observed for abit.

    This topic has been enjoyable reading, lets hear from some other folks!
    
    donmac                                          
    

    We took my son fishing for the first time this weekend.  It went real
    well. Using worms and bobbers in a small local pond we caught a whole
    mess of sunfish, a perch and a bass.  At 20 months he doesn't have the
    motor skills to be able to reel in the fish all by himself, almost, but
    not quite.  I kept all the fish in the livewell and Scott had fun
    watching them.  Since he was so enthisiastic, and we only planned to
    fish for an hour or so, we did not bring along any other toys.  We
    fished for a couple of hours and he did lose interest.  He played with
    his rod while we hooked fish on ther rods.  The sunfish were so easy
    that we could catch one any time we wanted. He'd say 'more fish', I'd
    ask him where I should cast, he'd point, I'd cast to a likely spot near
    where he pointed, the bobber would go down within seconds. I'd hand him
    the rod and Cathy (my wife) or I would help him reel it in.  While he
    was playing around with his rod we'd continue to catch fish and toss
    them in the livewell.
    
    When we were finished we thanked all of the fish for playing with us,
    said good by to them and let them go so we could play with them again
    some other day.
    
    donmac - looking forward to years of fun

    I agree with the bulk of the replies on Zebco's.  Those rod and reels
    are just a bunch of junk.  I spend more time fixing those reels than
    having the kids fish.  I tried switching to better line, tearing them
    apart regreasing and oiling them to no avail.
    
    This summer I got so tired of fixing it I told my 9 year old daughter to
    use my ultra light abu spin caster.  She actualy did well and then of
    course my 7 year boy had to try it and he could do it too.  The 2.5 boy
    just throws rocks, reels in constantly and makes a wholesome but loved
    nuicense of himself.  Nothing is more exiting and satisfying to me than
    to see their happy ecstatic faces reeling in a smallmouth.
    
    Once I stopped taking my own rod with them I learned to relax and enjoy
    helping them learn to fish.  Thats the key to success, as long as I
    told myself I wasn't going to fish, they could have as many birdnests,
    snags, etc and it would'nt affect me.
    
    
    the bassassin

    Hi everyone,
    
    		This is my maiden voyage into the notes file. I have a 
    4.5 year old (giong on 45) daughter who has been fishing since she was
    three (going on 30) and loving every minute of it. She has no problem
    reaching into a styrofoam container and bringing out a worm that would
    cause a 5 pound largemouth to swim away in fright. She will hand it to
    me (I take it reluctantly), and then I bait her hook. She is not yet
    able to cast, so I do it for her. She sets the hook just like Jimmy
    Houston and reels in the small kivers that live in the pond. She has
    also landed a 3 pound Largemouth. 
    
    		Kids love to fish and I am a firm beliver in doing what is
    needed to insure that she has a good time.
    
    
    
    Sam

    I agree with the "don't take your own rod when you take the kids"
    statement. I have found I have slightly more patience if I just let
    them fish..., and I watch/help.
    
    As for the Zebco reels... I have a 404, 202 and three 101 reels. All of
    which I had the desire to toss into the nearest dumpster, once.
    
    I have now had the 404 since my 10th birthday (I am 37) and have found
    that even the newer ones (202, 101) can be fished without major
    problems.
    
    When I have the kids using the 202 and 101, I have them pinch the line
    as it enters the covered bail, to insure tension as they reel in the
    line. I have found that the more tension you have on the line, the less
    likely you are to have a tangled mess.
    
    Yesterday afternoon, my theory was prooven. My son and I were in the
    back yard, practicing our casting.... when he forgot to add the tension
    to the line.., and the biggest birds nest tangle you have ever seen.
    
    After I finished getting that mess straightend out, I suggested he
    remember to "pinch the line" as he retrieved the line.... No problems
    were encountered as long as this was done.
    
    I wish I could get my baitcaster mastered...!
    
    Bob G.
    

     Get rid of those "Zip Guns" and buy 'em CHEAP (!!) spinning reels.
    Hell, if you can point your finger, you can cast a spinning outfit.
     On a more serious note, I'm amazed at all the thought and effort you
    guys have put into growing tomorrow's fishermen. In addition, you're
    forming companionships that will be memorable for the rest of your
    lives. It's worth the effort, and we need a new breed of fishermen that
    appreciate and respect the sport. All my nephews have sets of "Uncle
    Jack's" golf clubs, and I've sent my fishin' nephew some stuff. Looks
    like my now out of date, low tech Bionic Blades will be Headin' for the
    Lone Star State...
    
    --The Skoal Bandit

	My father-in-law drove from Worcester, MA to Philadelphia to
	pick up his 7 (?) year old grandson to take him fishing at Quabbin
	(his parents were gonna pick him up as they were coming up here
	anyway).

	The kid was so psyched, not to mention his grandfather!

	Well, they got to Quabbin, and it was a real nice day for fishing,
	or just being out on the water.  Matt handed his grandson his
	own personalized rod & reel, and the kids first cast was a 
	nice one: the lure went out about 30-40 feet and made a nice 
	splash, followed by a big splash caused by the rod & reel
	which quickly sank to the bottom!  The poor kid didn't hold onto
	the rod, and cast the whole outfit into the water...  

	So make sure you give some instructions to hold onto the rod!
	'Specially if he or she is using your ultralight (sounds like
	a better choice than those Fisher-Price setups).

	Ken

    
    Keep up the fun with your kids. 
    
    I did as most of you seem to be doing. My son started fishing at
    three years old, always carried his own tackle box (which seemed
    to be very important) and his rod. I started him with a spinning
    reel and had no problems.
    
    As he got older, he would bait his own hook, remove his own fish
    and eventually (at about 7) realized that you don't keep all the
    fish you catch. That was probably about the time he caught a 4lb
    bass; after that the small ones weren't worth keeping.
    
    He is now 19 and one of my favorite fishing partners. Too many of
    us seem to lose contact with our kids at that age. It's amazing
    how much we can communicate when we are sitting quietly in the boat
    for a couple of hours.
    
    Above all remember that you are taking *them* fishing, you are going
    along as the teacher. Later on you can go fishing together.
    
    Roger

    Well, we won't have any children until December but I have really
    enjoyed this note.  It reminds of when I was 5 and my dad took me
    fishing.  I'd sit on a bulkhead in NJ and dangle a clam below me in the
    water and watch blowfish encircle it and then move in for the kill.
    I'd yank em out of the water and over my head.  My father would say,
    "Reel em in, *r-e-e-l* em in! Try again".  By age 6, he had me catching
    flounder in the boat with him.  Now I teach him to catch salmon with
    me when he comes to visit.  He's a great partner.
    
    Two summers ago my 9 year old niece came to visit us in Seattle.  I
    took her salmon fishing and darned if she didn't get a nice 9 lbs
    Silver her first day out.  She was so psyched.  She has a picture of
    us and the fish on her wall at home.  Even though she slipped in the
    boat and broke my VHF antennae to break her fall, it was well worth it.
    
    Now at age 11 when she calls, she always asks when I'm going to take
    her fishing again.  She shoulda been my daughter!  
    
    /brett
    
    p.s. I gave her a BPS set up for her birthday last year :-) :-)  

    A few replies mentioned that person taking the kids fishing should not 
    take a rod with them or plan to fish.  I can see how this would be 
    appropriate once the kids are old enough to actively catch fish on their 
    own.  I'm sure they want to do it by themselves.
    
    But, until they are old enough to catch fish, I think the adults should 
    fish with/for them.  If the kids are not old enough to cast to a likely
    spot, realize when they have a fish on and reel the fish in, they are
    almost sure to get bored real fast. I would argue that having adults 
    hook and catch lots of fish for them is much more entertaining, until 
    they can do it for themselves.
    
    I would agree that the adult should not plan to fish "seriously".  They
    should be doing whatever it takes to supply *lots* of action - which 
    usually means catching small sunfish with worms.
    
    donmac

    DonMac
    
    It's a given when I take the kids fishing I don't take the rod because
    I can't take a rod and not take it seriously.  So what I do is cast in
    theirs and hook em and say hold this rod I have to check Kates and then
    actually after five tough minutes say Jon I think you might have a
    fish.
    
    The funniest part is after hooking them and giving the rods to the kids
    all day long at the end of the day they always rub it in how "DAD
    didn't catch anything
    
    Before deciding not to take a rod I always found myself getting
    frustrated having to untangle this or hook a worm or whatever.  Not
    taking my own rod sets my own expectations that for now until they are
    older and can hold their own, I am there to teach them the art.
    
    Brian

    Like some of the previous noters, I started my daughter at a relatively
    young age.  We enjoyed just going to a pond where she could catch 
    perch and blue gill.  For a child her age she seemed to enjoy it.
    
    As she got older we tried for different kinds of freshwater game.  At
    age 8 she caught her first large bass.  Also at eight she caught her
    first trout.  I think one of the best ways to teach a child is to
    attend a Fishing Derby.  At a derby they fish under more or less
    controlled conditions. Every year for the last 11 years, DEC Merrimack
    has held a Fishing Derby.  For the last four years she has attended.
    While she hasn't won anything, She has caught more than her share.  
    I really enjoy taking her to my favorite fishing hole.  I agree that it
    takes a lot of patience when they are young.
    
    
    
    TOM
    

    On the previous note, it was meant to say DEC Merrimack, NH.
    
    Tom

    With Christmas coming up I want to give the kids real spinning reels to
    get rid of those crappy 303's.  I was wondering if anyone has had any
    experience with the Quantum snapshots that have some kind of pin on the
    bail that picks up the line so all you do is push the bail over and
    pitch the line out.   Looked like it might be an easy way for kids to
    get the hang of the spinning rods.  Anyone have one?
    
    Brian

    My wife and I were woken up at 3:45 this morning by my two year old son 
    announcing, in no uncertain terms, from his crib in the next room, that
    we should get up now because he wanted to go fishing!!!  8^)
    
    -donmac
    

    Good Kid!

re:           <<< Note 1495.29 by RANGER::MACINTYRE "Terminal Angler" >>>

>    My wife and I were woken up at 3:45 this morning by my two year old son 
>    announcing, in no uncertain terms, from his crib in the next room, that
>    we should get up now because he wanted to go fishing!!!  8^)

Now all you have to do is train him to do this on weekends, and his
training will be complete ;-)   

Ken

    re.-1, yeap, I hear ya, had it been a warmer time of the year and not 
    a work day, we'd have been up an out it minutes!  
    
    donmac 
    
    

    Last summer I introduced my 5-year-old daughter to fishing.
    
    Loon Lake in upstate NY. Took her down to the permanent dock with a
    regular discount pole and some worms, cheese, wet flies, and spinners.
    
    She spent two hours pulling in blue gills, pumpkinseeds, rock bass, and
    calico bass. She took in 29 or 30 in all. We had a limit on 6 fish in
    the bucket at a time, so each time she caught a particularly pretty
    one, we'd take one out of the bucket before putting the new one in.
    Voil�, an enthusiastic fisherperson.
    
    The next day was designated as her first open water fishing expedition.
    We went out in a canoe to a site that I had checked out earlier
    underwater and knew to be teeming with yellow perch.
    
    She caught 6 yellow perch (or maybe I caught two and she caught four?)
    After photographing her on the dock with her stringer of perch and her
    fishing pole, we released all but the two largest, which she helped me
    clean. We would have had only one, but she wanter her little sister to
    have one of the fish she caught.
    
    Basic family rule ingrained early: you kill it, you clean it, you eat
    it. 
    
    I'm hoping that this year she can put the worm on the hook with hooking
    herself. Last week she said she couldn't wait until her sister catches
    her first fish. Her little sister seems more interested in what lives
    near the water than in what lives in it, but that may change after she
    can swim well enough to use mask and fins....
    
    John H-C

    I found a way to get my kids to practice casting more in the back yard
    on the lawn.  I took the hooks off a couple of the rubber frog lures 
    and let them practice casting that.  They seem to have more fun throwing 
    out something that looks real rather than the plastic practice weights 
    I have been using.
    
    Brian
    
    

    Practice makes perfect.  With a small durable rod and a hookless
    bait - they should be able to practice often, pretty much unsupervised.
    
    I removed the hooks from a Bomber Long A (rattlin minnow type 
    jerkbait) and gave it to my son when he was a few months old.
    
    He's just about 2.5 years old now and still plays with it, although 
    now it is attached to a small (~2') durable plastic fishing rod and 
    spincast reel.  
    
    The rod is small and durable enough so that he can play with it in the 
    house and do whatever he pleases with it - well almost whatever he
    pleases with it - casting to (hitting) the cats with it is not allowed. 
    8^)
    
    He can reel the lure in and press the button on the spincast reel to let 
    the lure free-fall.  But it'll probably be quite awhile before he can 
    actually "cast".  Releasing the button at just the right time to get an
    actual cast takes a fair amount of coordination.
    
    -donmac

    
    	I plan on taking one or two kids this w/e-to the stream that a
    friend saw the stocking truck at this morning!

 Taking KC out fishin' tonight (after she asked me to take her for the past
3 days.) It'd be nice to catch something with her for a change. I'm not quite
ready to take her in the canoe yet, so our choices are pretty limited. She
does real well at cranking in the spinner when daddy casts for her. Not bad for
2 years old.

    My son's going to make a poor fisherman. As soon as he catches a good
    size fish he wants to go show his mother. How's he gonna tell about
    the big ones that got away with honesty like that ?

    Jim

 Maybe he won't need to. :-)

    The other day I took my 4 year old to a place that always produces fish
    after a heavy rain.  We went down after dinner and I flipped a gitzit
    into the running water, first cast I see my line move sideways, I set
    the hook and hand my 5.5 med/lite rod to Monica and tell her to reel it
    in.   This fish must of jumped 5 times and was fighting like crazy.
    She was going crazy the look on her face was great.  She finally gets
    the fish to shore and I lip it, a nice 15" large mouth.  She agreed to
    let it live, nice kid, and we try again.  About 4 cast later we hook
    into one around 2.5 - 3 lbs. this one gave her a better fight.  She
    almost gave up on reeling it but managed to get it to shore.  Now all
    she wants to do is go home and tell her sister and Mom, so we head out
    and our 15 mins. of fishing was a big sucess.  Since Tuesday all she 
    talks about is the 2 BIG BASS she caught.  Kids are Great!!!
    
    Les

 Kacie cught a bunch of creek chubs last night. She was thrilled, though I
think she likes playing with the worms as much as catching fish. But it was only
her third time (she's 2). Fun stuff. :-)

    A tip that I found very helpful with my kids.  They are always
    fascinated with all the rubber baits in my tackle bag.  They are
    constantly asking for one of each.  While they are realively
    inexpensive, the problem is my kids keep coming back for more and that
    means I have to run to the tackle shop more often than I like.  So what
    I do now is whenever I go to a tackle shop I look for the big barrel of
    discountinued stuff.  I buy the most outrageous looking stuff like 9"
    green and red snakes and keep these in my tackle bag.  When the kids
    want something I reach in and with a lot of reluctance :^) I give them
    a large snake or two.  They love that and leave the real important
    baits alone.
    
    Brian

    RE: .42
    
       That tactic only works when they're real young!  My 9yr. old
    daughter asks which lures really catch fish and wants to throw only
    what she sees me using!  She caught her first Crappie yesterday on
    a small chartreuse spinnerbait.  My 5yr. old son however still wants
    the big gaudy stuff.
    				B.C.

    TEACHING YOUNGSTERS TO FISH HAS COMMANDMENTS OF ITS OWN
    -------------------------------------------------------
    by Tom Stienstra  
    Scripps Howard News Service (reprinted without permission)
    
    
    	The 10 Commandments of Teaching Youngsters How to Fish:
    
    	1. The first trip should be a place where there is a strong
    possibility of catching a fish, any fish, without any complicated
    technique involded.  A small pond for bluegill or a lake stocked with
    trout can be ideal.
    
    	2. Show a genuine zest for adventure, that is, having fun doing the
    small things, from picking a spot to watching a bird fly by. 
    Enthusiasm is contagious.
    
    (ed: actually, I think this is #3)
    	4. Large people should always be seated when talking to small
    people, so they are on the same level.  That is why fishing in a boat
    is perfect for adults and kids.
    
    	4. Never tell a kid how to do something.  Always show them.  Then
    if they want to do it their own way, let them.  You will discover a kid
    learns most behavior traits by watching adults who are unaware they are
    being watched.
                                                   
    	5. If they get sidetracked watching pollywogs, chasing butterflies,
    or sneaking up on a squirrel, then so be it.  Let the adventure happen,
    rather than trying to force it within some pre-conceived guidelines.
    
    	6. Kids can have short attention spans, so bring lots of snacks to
    keep them fascinated when the fish are not biting.  Don't let them know
    what goodies are in the bag, so each one becomes a surprise.
    
    (ed: sorry, no #7 in the paper)
    	8. Eat everything you kill, and pick up any litter you come across. 
    Kids quickly relate to outdoor ethics.
    
    	9. Take a photo of them with their catch.  It will become a
    treasure.
    
    	10. The least important word of all is "I."

    I like the 10 commandments and would add one to it.  If your a very
    serious fisherman like me, leave your rods home.  I found I used to get
    frustrated straightening birds nests, snags, baiting hooks because I
    wanted to fish to.  By leaving the rod home it made a world of
    difference in my attitude.  This by the way is only necessary in the
    beginning after the second year the kids are really getting the hang of
    it, plus our casting practices in the back yard are paying off.  They
    are becomming true fisherman in their own rights and I get a little
    time to fish now.
    
    Brian