Kid Fishing Question

[amateurfishing]

I was brought up fishing bullheads & other bottom feeders, fun but slow, along with some bobber fishing. Then i took a 20 year hiatus from fishing after going to college & working my keester off for corporate amercia. anyway now i have small kids but know almost nothing bout what I would call "real fishing", the ins & outs of any fish type and what to do on anyh certain day regarding fish type, weather, and so on. Anyway i love to read all the info on hear regarding fishing & enjoy trying new things for catching more fish. Question though is i love to take my 5 & 7 year old son out with but only let them fish with bobber & crawler & last 2 times out they have been skunked. While they do not get discouraged, are there any other baits/techniques that are good for small kids. should i give them a twister tail for constant cast/retreive? live minnow under bobber? and ideas for baits that dont break pocket book?

[pushbutton]

This is hands down my favorite set up for kids(myself included, I'm pretty much a big kid). Eagle Claw makes them, but sadly you can only get them at Wally World now that Sportsman Warehouse is gone. It is a pre beaded and bladed snell sold in a five pack for about two fifty. I actually do not even use floats a lot for these, but will work well with one. If using a float the small weighted ones, in my opinion, work the best. They attract all types of fish with a crawler or leech and larger profile helps prevent gut hooking.

Tackle aside, my best words of advice is worry more about finding fish, than finding the right tackle. I do not mean to be condescending in the least when i say this. My initial post in the HSO insiders forum reads almost verbatim to your life scenario. I as well have and continue to learn from this wonderful resource. First off do you have a boat and and what town do you live in?

[amateurfishing]

yes i have a boat that seats 5, just got last year, used 84 crestliner with motor that i have been unable to start yet so using trolling motor for power all summer. live in elk river

i know exactly what hooks u r talking bout, used to work at wallys, what purpose do the beads & blades serve on that setup?

[amateurfishing]

i also have hummingbird fish finder original to 84 boat, 4 x 6 Lcr display that is very arcaic, i only use for depth & some weeds & stucture which i try to decipher at times. really dont use it for locating fish cause half the time i catch fish, there is no reading on fish finder.

would like to have something more updated but cannot see spending 500-1000 just to have a good time on boat with kids, and even if i would spend that kind of money, really have no knowlege or anyone to help me learn reading screen, understanding the fish, and/or what they want.

[bucketmouth64]

I took my neigbors son out when he was 10 who never fished before and put on senko type worm and texas rigged it without the weight. He caught 2 bass within the first half hour. Later I switched him to wacky style (using gamagatsu's weedless wacky hook)and he kept catching fish I barely had time to fish myself. Just cast it out let them sink and reel in slowly. Both techniques are weedless so they shouldn't get snagged up.

[delmuts]

If you just want the kids to catch fish. I used to take my kids to streams and let them fish for shiners, non stop action! If you're after fish to eat, the talk to your local bait shops for panfish hot spots. I would think the bobber and worm would be the way to go. One other tip; if your kids have problems setting the hook on a fish use circle hooks. All they have to do is reel.

[gurkster]

I am not sure what lakes are over by you, but come over to the Forest Lake area and fish with a bobber, hook, and worm/crawler/leech and you can catch all the panfish you want. It is great for kids in that it is non-stop action. Lakes to try are Forest, Chisago, Big Marine, they all have shore fishing options as well, if you don't want to trailer your boat over this way.

[dfv87]

If you are in Elk River, then go to Ann lake near sherb wildlife refuge and use trolling motor to go out from landing... LOTS of small sunnies in there, you should be so busy your hands will prune up from handling wet slimy fish. worm and a bobber work fine along with all the other ideas expressed.

[Stick500]

When my little girls and I get into a hot spot for sunnies off a dock or boat I put a small 3/8th oz. jig with a little Gulp maggot on (I also knock down the barb for easy removal and to avoid bad casting accidents!). They then cast it out, jerk it in, feel a bite, and land a sunnie. The bait usually stays on, too. You should practice casting in the backyard ahead of time with a dummy lure or something tied on (no hook!).

They enjoy bobber fishing too, so I mix it up sometimes, but they have a harder time setting the hook with a bobber as they don't know how to keep line tight. If finding worms is a hassle for bobber fishing, cut up tiny pieces of hot dogs for sunnies- canned corn works too.

Don't forget that sunnies can spike you with their fin! I typically take the fish off for my 6-year old but my 8-year old learned how to hold sunnies after I showed her (make a ring with your forefinger and thumb and wrap it around the fish by the gills in front of the dorsal fin and then move your hand down so it folds the dorsal fin down and safe).

One more tip for the OP- if you got skunked with a bobber and crawler maybe you had too much worm or too big of a hook for any sunnies that were around. Downsize to a tiny hook and just a pinch of worm and you'll catch any little ones that are around. It's a mistake I see a lot on the docks

Let us know how it works! Pics would be nice too....

[pushbutton]

If you are in Elk River, then go to Ann lake near sherb wildlife refuge and use trolling motor to go out from landing... LOTS of small sunnies in there, you should be so busy your hands will prune up from handling wet slimy fish. worm and a bobber work fine along with all the other ideas expressed.

My thoughts as well, not a whole lot of choices in the area and would be a great place to start them out at, a nice small lake as well. Big/Mitchell might also work ok for some smaller bass when the lake starts to cool down and they move up shallower. After the kids get their feet wet, maybe next spring you could join the circus out on pelican if you want to try to get into some more size. Another thought is to go back to your roots a little and throw a crawler or two at the bottom of the river. Ostego is a really nice park and can provide other entertainment if the fish are not biting.

[amateurfishing]

thx for the tips....yes i have already taken them to east twin very early spring and couple times to eagle lake just nort of big lake...& yes part of problem for them is learning to keep line tight & i probably am putting on too much crawer. 5 year old caught 12 inch bass early spring on eagle with bobber & he was amazed. im thinking tecnique more, not so much location, an easier way to teach them about tight lines, seems like fish in eagle lately r only taking moving baits, i tried new slow death with crawler & caught 2 real quick but died just as fast.....and when they see me constanly casting & retrieving they get bored fast just watchin their bobber. is there safe/easy technique with spinner/blades/twister tail or something?

was also to pelican for ice fishing couple times last winter.....that zoo is not for me i dont think

[BoxMN]

On our dock the sunnies are non-stop action for the kids. Key is using small bait on small jigs for us. with or without floats. Gulp maggots or larvae work great, but a can of corn is a lot cheaper (68 cents!) and goes a looooong way, and the kids aren't afaid to bait it themselves even when real little.

I put on a 1/16th oz. jig and a float with the weighted ring at bottom so it always stands up. Put a corn kernel or two on, and its off to the races!

On lakes, I would go find a dock that nobody is on/swimming at, and get as close as you can, or swimming rafts are excellent too. Fish hang right under it, and you don't need to fish deep. The bonus is a big bass will often come and take it down, and then you will have an angler for life for sure!

Be sure to bring your long nose pliers and even one of those red "hook-out" tools work great.

Have fun, good luck!

[Stick500]

one more tip for fishing and kids- when using corn or hot dogs, bring twice as much as you might think you need- the kids'll mow it down too! My two knuckleheads steal little handfuls of the corn and eat the lukewarm hot dogs one after another!!!