Kids and casting

[Sweet Melissa]

We are planning to go to Lost Lake by Mt. Hood in September, and I am hoping to give my 3 1/2 yr. old son his first fishing adventure there. So, today I bought him a small kids rod at Bi-Mart, and attempted our first casting lesson. He was far more interested in chasing the bobber I had on the end, didn't listen to what I was telling him, etc., etc.

My nephew, who is only 3 months older, apparently can cast on his own. I have personally never seen him do it, but have been told he can. I don't know whether to chalk up today's experience to him being tired. (We were visiting family all day yesterday, and he played outside with his cousin most of the day.) Or that he's not quite old enough to learn to cast yet. He is a very outdoorsy kid with LOTS of little boy energy. After we had cast a few times he wanted to go inside to watch a movie. :shrug:

So, when did you guys teach your kids/grandkids to cast? Also, since we don't have a nice slough full of bullheads and bass like I learned to fish in, should I take him to a trout pond to "hook him" on the experience of fishing, or just take him to the lake, and see what happens?

Thanks for any tips or advice.

[Klamanite]

We are planning to go to Lost Lake by Mt. Hood in September, and I am hoping to give my 3 1/2 yr. old son his first fishing adventure there. So, today I bought him a small kids rod at Bi-Mart, and attempted our first casting lesson. He was far more interested in chasing the bobber I had on the end, didn't listen to what I was telling him, etc., etc.

My nephew, who is only 3 months older, apparently can cast on his own. I have personally never seen him do it, but have been told he can. I don't know whether to chalk up today's experience to him being tired. (We were visiting family all day yesterday, and he played outside with his cousin most of the day.) Or that he's not quite old enough to learn to cast yet. He is a very outdoorsy kid with LOTS of little boy energy. After we had cast a few times he wanted to go inside to watch a movie. :shrug:

So, when did you guys teach your kids/grandkids to cast? Also, since we don't have a nice slough full of bullheads and bass like I learned to fish in, should I take him to a trout pond to "hook him" on the experience of fishing, or just take him to the lake, and see what happens?

Thanks for any tips or advice.

Get an old, used up plug and remove the hooks. Tie it on his line then take him out in the yard with a garbage can lid, tupperware bowl etc. as a target. Make up some kind of reward or prize so he'll want to spend more time "practicing"...... Good luck :excited:

[Sweet Melissa]

Get an old, used up plug and remove the hooks. Tie it on his line then take him out in the yard with a garbage can lid, tupperware bowl etc. as a target. Make up some kind of reward or prize so he'll want to spend more time "practicing"...... Good luck :excited:

Your post made me chuckle. I tend to forget POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT works wonders. I grew up the "old-fashioned way," where if you didn't do it right the first time, you got yelled at and had to quit "until you can do it right." So, thank you. I will try to make a game of it, and maybe offer some small rewards. :flowered:

[Klamanite]

Your post made me chuckle. I tend to forget POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT works wonders. I grew up the "old-fashioned way," where if you didn't do it right the first time, you got yelled at and had to quit "until you can do it right." So, thank you. I will try to make a game of it, and maybe offer some small rewards. :flowered:

Yup, it's great for the little ones in keeping them interested a little longer :excited:

[Duz]

Get an old, used up plug and remove the hooks. Tie it on his line then take him out in the yard with a garbage can lid, tupperware bowl etc. as a target. Make up some kind of reward or prize so he'll want to spend more time "practicing"...... Good luck :excited:
I learned with a trash can and every 10 i got a dollar...lol...i was good within a few weeks lol...wish they would of gave me more then 10...they stoped giving me money at that point....`

[Don Fischer]

Your kid is only 3 1/2, let him be a kid. Just give him a rod and let him watch. He'll probably end up wanting to sord fight with it, let him.
That age kid probably doesn't have to motor skills to do it yet anyway.

[Don Fischer]

In Bend there's a pond called Shelvim Pond, that's where my son takes his daughter. Been taking her there for several years. It's stocked just for kids and not so big. He cast's for her and she reels in the fish. I do believe fishing would mget boreing if they weren't catching fish. I've been out there with them when the pond was short on fish and Sam loses intrest and we go walking. Took her to Wickiup about a month ago but fish weren't hitting anything we had. She gave up and decided driving the boat around the lake was more fun. She's 6.

Over in Newport there is a pond that get's fish regularly thru the summer. My son used to take his son out there. But when fishing slowed down, Jake gave up. He's not real outdoorsy anyway, but kids need some kind of action to hold their intrest. I think there's some ponds around Salem too that might be kid friendly.

At 3 1/2yrs I doubt any kid will be able to put together the cordination necessary to cast any reel, maybe a spin cast. How well does he throw a ball? Now remember that once he's thorwing the ball well he has to learn to control the line and release it at the right time or to hold down the button and release it at the right time. I have taught a couple kids to do it!

[dlm]

I have taught a couple kids to do it!

Kids are easy, have you ever taught a wife?????? Now that is a challenge:passout:

Just kidding honey, really, just kidding.....:stormwarning:

[Don Fischer]

I've had three of them and everyone had a dad of their own. There are certain qualities I look for in a woman:

must know how to cast;
must know how to shoot
must know how to clean and filet fish;
must know how to field dress and skin big game;
must have a tremendoius love of dogs and in the house;
several other things but you probably already know them!:meme:

You know what, I can hire someone to clean the house, wash the dish's, take care of the kids, wash the car, mow the lawn,,,you get the idea? I'm a hell of a catch, woman only has to do fun things!:excited:

By the way, if her hope chest doesn't have a few fishing rods and a couple rifles in it next to a big sweaty pile of cash, I throwing her back!:passout:

[Doc_Rhen]

Some will do ok with a spincast at that age and some will not. My son started using a spinning reel reasonably well at 5 my daughter still has trouble at 7. Each one is different so we play games and do alot of trolling, they can drop it over the side and let it out just fine. When we were in casting situations most of the time I did the casting for them for a couple years.

[Sweet Melissa]

Some will do ok with a spincast at that age and some will not. My son started using a spinning reel reasonably well at 5 my daughter still has trouble at 7. Each one is different so we play games and do alot of trolling, they can drop it over the side and let it out just fine. When we were in casting situations most of the time I did the casting for them for a couple years.

Yes! Thank you! I forgot that we did most of our catching by trolling up there. We used to go every year when we were kids, and now I remember how successful we were with frog lures.

[uhmw]

my boy was casting by 3 years old he was also off training wheels too. My girl is casting at 5 but was able to reel in fish at 3 she is still on training wheels though.

[Wild Chrome]

My daughter and I have enjoyed a lot of success over the last few years. She just turned 6. I taught her how to cast her spinning rod initially, but found we had our best catching success trolling. She's become a pro at letting line out and placing the rods just right. When she did cast, she didn't get much distance, so if we're fishing bait or throwing spinners, I will generally do all the casting.

My best advice: keep fishing short (few hours or so), bring lots of snacks, make sure they're plenty warm, and try to make sure you'll catch some fish (ie. fish a place and time when you know how to catch fish easily).

Good luck!

[negoc8]

Love this topic, brings back some fun memories. I have two boys that learned the same way, with the same set up. We took the lower half of a rod, the reel was a zebco spin and cast, one of the push button ones, loaded with 8lb test, put a BIG spin and glow on the line and just above that, a med. size split shot, and let em at it. The split shot was spaced a a 1/4 inch or so from the spin and glow with just enough weight to keep in place until the cast came forward. We discovered this purely by accident after the top half of the pole had been broken... and the kid picked what he wanted for a lure. My 10 year old is one of the best front seaters I fish with, he can stick a cast behind/next to or under what ever he wants. The set-up never had a hook on it, they just had a ball watching the action of the spin-n-glow across the top of the water. Have fun, some good times ahead!

[dlm]

They don't need to cast if you teach them some of the old indian tricks:laugh::laugh::laugh:

[Surfpole6]

I first started buying my kids(when they were little) the "small" fun type poles but realized how useless they are when it comes to actually doing some fishing. I like the Zebco33 combos for starters.

[goose]

It really depends on the kids.. I have a 3 yr old granddaughter who was casting at 3. sitting quietly in the boat, waiting for a bite, not asking to reel in the line every 2 seconds, and catching fish. That is the extreme, because I taught her by having her cast at a bucket and rewarding her when she got the casting plug in the bucket. Sje s 8 yrs old now and is a fishing machine. On the other hand, I have used the same technique on my other grandchildren, and some respond and some don't.. The most importnat thing is to have fun and go at their own speed....because we have to remember this is so they have fun.. not so we have fun..

[justasillyolgirl]

When mine was young, I wrapped a bobber in electrical tape to give it some weight. Then he and I ran around the yard aiming at each other. Kids are amazingly quick to learn when it's a game they can win. :meme: The one who scored the most hits got a prize. Of course he always won and we bragged about it A LOT. He's now 14 and is my best fishing buddy ever. That's him in the picture below with his first steelhead and 8 yrs old. It was a beautiful 9lb hen. I was so proud I almost cried. :flowered:

You don't have to cast out far up at Lost Lake to catch trout either.

[Klamanite]

So how has it worked thus far??

[cascadebull]

My son was about the same age when he got hid kiddie pole. His came with a plastic weight to practice with in the yard.

Be careful what you tell them, they take it literally most of the time. I let hime practice a few times at the lake and then rigged him up with hook and bait and told him to throw it in, and thats what he did. He threw the whole thing in the lake. After I got it out of the water I was laughing so hard I slipped and fell in the water. Then they grow up and mope around mumbling something about video games.

[Krusty]

I had my girls start casting with a light action Steelhead spinning rod. I think the extra length and whippyness helped. It also seemed to help with fighting the fish and landing them.:twocents:

[Get Bit]

When teaching kids how to cast, there is no substitute for the closed faced spincast reels. Zebco used to make a 202 that was bullet proof. Not sure if they are still made. Ironwood Pacific makes a casting game called Back Yard Bass that would allow him to cast practice casting even if there isn't any water. A trout pond is a great place to start a little guy. Good Luck!!

http://dsp.imageg.net/graphics/product_images/p881974p275w.jpg

[12244]

I've got an ODFW kids event scheduled for Oct 3rd at the Canby Pond. Spincast poles provided, and I will bring a few spinning outifts. Bring out the beginners!

[Derrel]

I have a little boy who's six,and I bought both a Zebco 33 and a Pflueger 1810 for our first father-son fishing trips. The Zebco,being a spin-caster, has a thumb button you press and release, just like the little "toy" fishing rod kits he was used to,so I figured that the spin-caster might work for him. WRONG! The problem is spin casters need to be held "upright", with all the weight and balance issues that entails.

The Pflueger 1810 is an under-spin has a long trigger lever that you actuate with your index finger when casting,and the reel sits underneath the rod,where gravity keeps it where it belongs--less wrist strain for the kid,and better dexterity with the index finger than the thumb made it easier for him to cast. (Some people call this reel type trigger-spin I think.)

The Pflueger 1810 is fairly solid, and has a very good drag that has more and finer adjustments than the Zebco 33, and it seems to foul up less than the Zebco. Its weight also balances well on a 6.6 to 7 foot light-action spinning rod quite nicely, with almost perfect balance on the 6'6" Quantum Teton Trout two-piece spinning rod I bought.

[12244]

I've taught hundreds of very young kids to fish using this rig, which in my opinion is the best thing out there. Unfortunately the reel finally broke. Its a trigger cast with rear drag trout setup. Those push button spincast rigs are confusing and just not realistic for the kids. ODFW are you listening?
http://www.ifish.net/gallery/data/500/medium/Small_Fry_pond_Spring_2009_Jessica_Age_4.jpg (http://www.ifish.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/99354)

[Derrel]

YEEEESSSSS! Kevin's photo shows the under-spin type reel I was talking about in my post just above. That undermount trigger system really works. I tried it myself versus the Zebco 33 spin-casting reel,and found that the under-spin or trigger-spin type reel was even easier for ME to cast!

Glad to hear that other folks have found the same thing. I have some nephews who could probably use their own trigger spinning reels about now....

[12244]

Kids, and parents alike, are in awe when I cast this thing. It makes a great sound and the bobber flies effortlessly across the sky. Coupled with a 6ft lightweight graphite rod, its the closest thing to Steelheading they can experience at a young age. I found mine at walmart on clearance for half price! Now I need another!

Mitch

YEEEESSSSS! Kevin's photo shows the under-spin type reel I was talking about in my post just above. That undermount trigger system really works. I tried it myself versus the Zebco 33 spin-casting reel,and found that the under-spin or trigger-spin type reel was even easier for ME to cast!

Glad to hear that other folks have found the same thing. I have some nephews who could probably use their own trigger spinning reels about now....