Took the boy fishing for his first time

Aaron Kalberer wrote:

I definitely am keeping the button rod just for how much fun he had with it in the boat

You can be trolling or bobber fishing with another rod (make sure he knows that one is his to watch) and using his snoopy rod with the green fish at the same time because there is no hook on the line of the snoppy rod. I don’t think a CO will get you for using multiple lines. Anything you can think of to just spend more time on the water with them. I have even tied a hula hoop to the back of the boat and had him try to cast into it. He can pop a plain weight right out and try again.

My personal opinion is, when a accident occurs you won’t have time to put a life jacket on the child. And nobody wants to have a regret like that.

Tuma wrote:

I have even tied a hula hoop to the back of the boat and had him try to cast into it. He can pop a plain weight right out and try again.

This thread has given me so many ideas. I remember just casting in the yard growing up, and I’m a big believer in putting in time to become an effective caster, so I’m pretty sure I’m going to try this idea when he’s old enough.

Good info / stories here

I took my son fishing when he was 2 months old. More of just a short boat ride but he has been on the water ever since. The main thing to keep in mind is just to do whatever it takes to make it FUN. Snacks and toys, yes. But other little things (already mentioned) letting them have their own tackle box. At 1 yr old I bought him his own little tackle box and gave him some old crankbaits with the hooks removed. Plastics are also a lot of fun for kids – find some frogs, turtles, crawfish, etc

I also let him play with live minnows and let him scoop them. Keep some small perch or sunnies in the livewell and let them play with those – and then let him/her release when its appropriate.

Also let my son make Pirate Flags and attach to the boat. If he got bored and said “Dad let’s move” even when we were on fish, I just said “OK son, you pick the spot and we’d move”. Lastly, don’t push it. Know when to call it good and leaving them wanting more sometimes is important too.

He’s 6 now, and a fishing machine. Love it.

Some pics

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I was giving a fish presentation on Monday, and my 2 year old decided he needed to take charge of the presentation at the small tank.

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Awesome pictures and stories guys! I figured I would share that he landed his first walleye, 22″ and he was proud as heck!

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That’s awesome!

Way to go Aaron. What did you decide to let him use for a rod?

He was running the snoopy rod, and had him run the reel on my leadcore set up, once the fish bit I set it in the rod holder, backed the trolling motor off to 1.2 mph and had him reel like a mad man. We worked with his new rod this weekend and was figuring it out, but his attention span is short so it might be a year yet till he is actually fishing on his own and can have his own real rod.

Aaron Kalberer wrote:

we stuffed our kid in the life jacket ASAP so he just wouldn’t know any better when on the water. My sister inlaw and her husband (Inlaws don’t do anything right) have not done this and now they have an 1.5 yr old and throws a tantrum anytime it is on.

I’ve found this to be pretty common among my friends and the same thing happened to my kids with the infant Stohlquist vest we had for them – it’s really nice but tends to ride high on the kids up into their face and they didn’t like it one bit. Problem was solved once they got big enough for the 30lb-50lb vest, the fit was much better.

Great pics everyone, always nice to see happy kids on the water!

Aaron Kalberer wrote:

We worked with his new rod this weekend and was figuring it out, but his attention span is short so it might be a year yet till he is actually fishing on his own

My son was the same way when he was younger. So I put a bungee cord around the reel and c-clamped it to the boat. This way if he was not paying attention and the rod went overboard I could get it back.

Aaron Kalberer wrote:

Joe did you start them off with a regular fishing rod?

Aaron, I’m not saying it was the best choice but it was his choice. He had to use a rod “like Daddy’s” so that what he used. I told him if he wasn’t careful he’d have to use a different rod. Well it turns out he took very good care of my stuff and still uses a full size rod. Letting a 2 yr old learn to fish with a $300 combo probably isn’t real bright but it worked and he felt really important. Now watching him cast a rap with a 7’6″ rod is hilarious He can really get that lure out there!

Aaron Kalberer wrote:

Awesome pictures and stories guys! I figured I would share that he landed his first walleye, 22″ and he was proud as heck!

Awesome fish!!

Tuma wrote:

My son was the same way when he was younger. So I put a bungee cord around the reel and c-clamped it to the boat. This way if he was not paying attention and the rod went overboard I could get it back.

This is genius!

Joe, I bet that’s a blast to watch, my boy finds more interest in the fish in the livewell and the candy on the console than anything else, which I am fine with for now haha. I am just glad he likes going out, makes it easier for permission from the FW to get out on the water