Children Fly Fishing - Get ‘em
hooked up!
 Sometimes
they enjoy fly tying more than fishing
at a young age. Here’s Sienna Miller (my
daughter) with her first popper. See the
fish I caught on it on a trip a few days
later. The next step is to get her out
there and have her catch her own on her
own fly! One step at a time. Click on
her picture to see the fish it produced!
Earlier in the summer I took her out
to experience some smallie fishing and
she used a spinning rod and a Rapala to
nail this fish. She went back to reading
her book after this photo was taken. The key is to
get them into various aspects of the
sport, one way or the other. I believe
she enjoys the fly tying as much, or
more, than the
fishing!
What does it take to spark a child’s
interest in fishing and sustain it for a
lifetime?
(HINT:
Start with Humor) Then make sure they
catch something...anything! Just get
them into fishing in general. Then bring
out the flyrods when the sunnies are on
the beds and have a ball.
Take
A Kid
Fishing!
You are in for a treat folks!
Here is an article in the
Minnesota Volunteer (Subscribe now for
free
online or call 888-646-6367)
entitled “Fishing with Small Fry:
Teaching Kids to Fish ” by
C.B. Bylander on the Minnesota DNR.
This is an excellent piece by one
cool dude. It’s the best short piece
I’ve seen on teaching kids to
enjoy fishing. Check out the
PDF attached below and click “read on”.
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Bylander begins: “When
adult anglers offer
a sense of humor,
kids take the
bait....
 “My dad was
something else. He
would lie,
exaggerate, and spin
yarns as tangled as
a backlash.
All kids
should be so lucky.
Most don't get to
fish with...Read
On! |
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Four Kinds of Fisherman:
-
Addict:
These poor souls were stricken with
a life long addiction somewhere in
their youth. The life cycle starts
with introduction to the sport. An
alarm goes off inside the addict
upon catching some fish that says, “This
is it! This is it! This is what I
want to do!” They cannot look at
any body of water, even a mud
puddle, without wondering about life
beneath the surface. Every family
vacation has some connection to
fishing, as he or she is reminded on
occasion. The addict devours all
things fishing and becomes
proficient enough to catch fish
consistently.
The addict gets very good and maybe
even competes to prove their
prowess. They evolve to take only
enough fish to eat as they can
always get more. Over time, some
fishing addicts become the best
kind of fisherman, they become
teachers. They understand
there’s a whole lot more to fishing
than simply fishing.
-
Casual:
This one does not live and
breath fishing, but enjoys it enough
to go with family and friends. They
possess the proper equipment
sufficient enthusiasm to have a
working knowledge, allowing them to
catch fish on occasion.
-
Social:
This person enjoys the social
aspects or networking benefits they
can derive from fishing, hunting,
and other activities. They would
never dream of going fishing alone.
Someone else must be present for
social intercourse and no doubt, to
tell them where and how to fish.
They may take kids out, but only
under duress from their spouse or
chiding from the children
themselves. Fishing is not part of
their inner fabric, but they enjoy
what may be the most important part
of fishing - time with others.
-
Meat:
We all know this type. Fortunately,
the generation of the meat-hog
mentality is dwindling. While some
have practiced catch and release for
decades, the movement really began
in the early 1970’s. The emergence
of bass tournaments and
environmentalists spurned leaders in
the angling world to promote C & R.
Today, with the multitude of special
regulations and reduced bags, the
meat fisherman mentality is nearly
cycled through, but not quite. The
vast majority of anglers now embrace
catch and release because they
understand the consequences of the
old way. Still, there are still
plenty of folks who just don’t feel
right without a freezer full
of wildlife.
It’s Up To Us
At
FlyBass.com, we believe our
part-time job as an adult or parent
includes a responsibility to
introduce youth (and other folks) to
the joys and passions of life.
It can be anything:
fishing, music, basket-weaving,
religion, history,
horses...whatever. To share your
inner fire can ignite one in
someone else. You may fit perfectly
into one of these or fall somewhere
between.
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