Do you live and breathe fly fishing? Want to pass down your favourite hobby to your children? Parents with a love of fly fishing and the outdoors have a better chance of passing on their interest to their children, but as you know, there’s a lot more to fly fishing than just standing in some muddy water. It takes practice and dedication.
If you want to pass down your fly fishing secrets, check out our handy guide on how to teach your children to fly fish.
Don’t Teach ‘Em Too Young
Younger children simply aren’t ready for fly fishing, but they’re never too young to get interested in fishing. The best way to start teaching fly fishing is to not teach it at all. When children are still too young (between the ages of three and six), you should instead be concentrating on getting them interested in fish.
Whether you take your kids to the aquarium or set up a goldfish bowl in their rooms, sparking that initial interest is key. Grab a can of worms and take your child out to the pier with your bait and a bobber and make the experience fun for them. Even if they don’t catch anything, they should be having fun so look to engage with them and teach them along the way.
You might also take your child on a day-long fishing trip to show them how fishing is really done. Seeing you or another person in your group catch a fish – big or small – can be very encouraging for a soon-to-be fisher, but make sure they understand that even if they don’t catch anything, fishing can still be enjoyable and relaxing.
As your children grow, be sure that they see you fly fishing once in a while so they see how much enjoyment you get from it and how much fun fly fishing can really be. Hopefully by now, their interest in fly fishing will have progressed, and your children will be ready to pick up their own rods and start casting.
Things You’ll Need
You should have plenty of flies and old rods, and maybe you’ve been dying to pass down these treasured items to your children. Don’t just yet. You want to set your children up for success, and your flies and rods may be in poor condition or simply too big and bulky for your young fly fisher.
While you don’t have to spend hundreds of dollars on new equipment, you should invest in a good pole and a new set of flies. Have your child come with you to pick out the new equipment. It will create anticipation and make the first fishing outing much more exciting.
Don’t forget the other important boating accessories and boat safety equipment, such as:
Life jackets/PFD
First-aid kits
Torches
Bug repellant
You should also be teaching your children to swim or at least dog-paddle in the water. If you’re taking them out a lake, there’s a chance they could fall in. The life jacket, of course, will keep them afloat, but your child may feel more confident if they can already swim.
The Perfect Cast
Now that your child is excited to fly fish and has all the necessary equipment, it’s time to get your young one out on the water and making their first few casts.To help them along and better explain how to fly fish, use a few of these great pointers:
Imagine a marshmallow is on the end of the stick. Tell your children to flick the stick as if they were flicking it backwards. Then have them flick it forwards as if they were throwing the marshmallow at someone directly across from them. This is a fun way to teach the back-and-forth motions of fly fishing, and it usually gets kids laughing quickly.
Teach to look for clues in back and forth casts. You want the line to be parallel to the ground at one point. Have your child looking for clues so when it’s time to flick the rod in the opposite direction, your child will know.
Don’t get discouraged. Fly fishing is difficult to pick up at any age. If you notice your kids getting frustrated, lighten the mood and share some of your own worst fishing failures. Whatever you do, don’t join in with the discouragement. Your kids will pick up on it, and before you know it, they’ll be done with fly fishing for good.
On your first trip fly fishing together, go to a well-stocked area where the fish are plentiful. While you may enjoy lazy fishing days and care little if you catch anything at all, your children may not feel the same. Remember, they’re still new to this, and they want to catch fish. Give them the best chances by going to a lake or preserve where fish are stocked and then released. The fish aren’t used to the wild so they might go after any old bobber.
Tell us, when did you become interested in fly fishing? Did you parent or grandparent teach you? Share your stories from your first fly fishing trips with us!
Author Bio
As the former President of the Boating Industry Association, Rod’s passion for boating and fishing is utilised in his current role as Managing Director of CH Smith. Offering his masterful expertise, Rod ensures that customers leave with a love for the sea that parallels his own.