Help with Fishing With My Son
- Thread starter Cougar63
- Start date
We used to laugh at Grandpa when he'd head off to go fishing. But we wouldn't be laughing that evening, when he'd come back with some whore he picked up in town.
- Sep 13, 2002
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Well this time of year you are going to need a:
Some:
And if you are willing to spend the money, I'd recommend:
This took off. Thanks, pals. A lot of good information here. I appreciate you all.
Definitely waiting until spring/summer but wanting to get a head start. I’ll ask around if any of my buddies fish or not and go out with them to get my skills sharpened.
Live bait doesn’t give me the ick so I’m not worried about that, and I’ve watched enough catch/clean/cook videos on YouTube (DeerMeatForDinner is fun to watch) to figure out how to filet a fish. I don’t mind someone else doing it for us, and I’ll let him decide if we’re even catching and keeping them. He’s the type to not want to hurt em so he may not want to keep em.
Definitely waiting until spring/summer but wanting to get a head start. I’ll ask around if any of my buddies fish or not and go out with them to get my skills sharpened.
Live bait doesn’t give me the ick so I’m not worried about that, and I’ve watched enough catch/clean/cook videos on YouTube (DeerMeatForDinner is fun to watch) to figure out how to filet a fish. I don’t mind someone else doing it for us, and I’ll let him decide if we’re even catching and keeping them. He’s the type to not want to hurt em so he may not want to keep em.
I wish you lived closer I would invite you to our ponds. He could catch bluegills and large mouth easily and wouldn't get bored.
bait caster and ugly stick like @SansAgain said.
Dont start at a river or body of water you dont know. find out what areas are stocked well and open to public.
bait caster and ugly stick like @SansAgain said.
Dont start at a river or body of water you dont know. find out what areas are stocked well and open to public.
I wouldn't recommend a bait caster for a kid, those take too long to learn. I'd recommend a spin cast rod/reel combo which can be had for cheap from Walmart. My first reel was a Zebco Bullet like this
Where do you live? I’ve got about 6 rod and reel combos that I’m looking to dump. If not to a noob then I’ll see about donating to the boy scouts
Same. ^^ I don't have any ground breaking advice that hasn't already been shared, but would echo the "keep it fun, keep it light" direction.
A youngster may only fish for a few minutes before getting distracted by nearby butterflies, snacks, who knows...and that is OK. Oh...take plenty of pics!! Glad to hear that you have this adventure to look forward to, good stuff.
Ok so we were in this 2 years ago, I fished a bit back in high school but far from an angler. We had the very cheap kids rods that we used up in okoboji 8 years ago when my son was 2 (struggle to reel in small blue gill). We had my parents get him a fishing bag with everything he would need for Christmas 2 years ago. Look for the Lanaak or Oddspro starter kids pack with telescoping pole for $30. Works great with bluegill and other smaller fish. Pick up some worms, or if like me, wait for a rain and pick them off my driveway.
My son went on a fishing trip for a birthday party with 10 other kids and caught 12 bluegill in 3 hours when many other struggled to catch 1 (either too large of a pole, too long of distance between bobber weight and hook, or just getting tangled too much due to poor casting). Plus telescope it back down and put it back in the bag. The telecoping mechanism can get a tad finicky but for the kids works really well overall. Cheap way to try to get some thrills and memories.
FYI talked with DNR the last couple years, and he said the best time to fish from shoreline is late April to June as temps start to warm and the fish begin to spawn. I am a novice, so I just try to pick up any information. The goal is to get bites otherwise the attention span generally doesn't last long.
I want to try to catch a bass on it and truly test it, but I have had battles with my regular rod and not sure my 10 year old is quite up to the task or the pole. If he continues to enjoy it will get a better pole.
My son went on a fishing trip for a birthday party with 10 other kids and caught 12 bluegill in 3 hours when many other struggled to catch 1 (either too large of a pole, too long of distance between bobber weight and hook, or just getting tangled too much due to poor casting). Plus telescope it back down and put it back in the bag. The telecoping mechanism can get a tad finicky but for the kids works really well overall. Cheap way to try to get some thrills and memories.
FYI talked with DNR the last couple years, and he said the best time to fish from shoreline is late April to June as temps start to warm and the fish begin to spawn. I am a novice, so I just try to pick up any information. The goal is to get bites otherwise the attention span generally doesn't last long.
I want to try to catch a bass on it and truly test it, but I have had battles with my regular rod and not sure my 10 year old is quite up to the task or the pole. If he continues to enjoy it will get a better pole.
If someone does a parody of the subject line of this post, I'm quitting HROT.
Tell me you know nothing about fishing without telling me you know nothing about fishing.
This. I ice fish and love but it will be much more hit and miss than if you wait till spring and shore it. Plus you don't need to worry about cold making it a miserable experience.
Most important thing early on is that they have a good time. Bluegills by worm (tipping a mini tube jig) under a bobber should give you a great chance for a good experience.
If you are not comfortable cleaning them don't let it stop you. Make sure you bring a pair of needle nose pliars for hook removal.
I wasn’t serious, no newb is going to be using a baitcaster unless they’d rather deal with birds nests than fish and I don’t think you’d have much luck catching walleye in a farm pond. I started my four boys on 6’ to 6’6” Fenwicks with decent Pflueger or Shimino spinning reels. Living on the river so it’s walleye, smallies and northern for the most part. Now my oldest has rods and reels for every style of fishing. He makes his own rods with G. Loomis blanks and has $400 dollar reels that I’m not allowed to touch. He’s worked at bait and tackle shop while going to school since he was 14. My $120 investment has paid off.
Actually there are 3 privately owned ponds within 5 miles of my house that have walleye in them. That said, it just wouldn't be my first choice for a 1st timer. Panfish are generally much easier to catch in numbers.
It’s extremely rare for walleyes to successfully spawn in ponds.
Interesting. I don’t know much about fish. Walleye are predators though, right?
You need cold, deep, highly aerated water for walleye to spawn, in addition to rocky bedding.
May I ask where this is? I would have to guess you live north of I80 at minimum. I mow at Stonehaven and they have a walleye pond but they spent several million dollars in the 90s to build it and it requires constant aeration. It's a giant pain in the ass to have walleye in "pond" this far south.
Walleye reproduce in both streams and lakes in Iowa, but they are also hatchery-propagated in large numbers at the Spirit Lake and Rathbun Fish Hatcheries. Shortly after the ice melts from the lakes and rivers and the water temperature reaches 45 to 50 degrees, Walleye move into the shallows to spawn.
We have walleye just a few miles up the road at rathbun. However most people without a boat like to fish the spillway, from the dam. All kinds of fish there.
We have walleye just a few miles up the road at rathbun. However most people without a boat like to fish the spillway, from the dam. All kinds of fish there.
You need a ton of aeration to have a healthy walleye population.
Keep it simple OP, small hook, worm blue gill, leave the trophy fish for year 2.
Besides the right rod and reel, was thinking you need to know the right size hooks. I’d keep it simple and get a pack of these in size 6. Good for panfish and even small bass.
Also, for bait you could use worms, but don’t underestimate dough balls. Bring a half loaf of white bread and you might be able to chum up some fish. You can get them into a feeding frenzy and toss a dough ball out in the middle. Guaranteed fish. If you’re in a lazy little pond with no current, I probably wouldn’t even use a split shot.
Keep it simple.
Also, for bait you could use worms, but don’t underestimate dough balls. Bring a half loaf of white bread and you might be able to chum up some fish. You can get them into a feeding frenzy and toss a dough ball out in the middle. Guaranteed fish. If you’re in a lazy little pond with no current, I probably wouldn’t even use a split shot.
Keep it simple.
North Central Iowa. All 3 are large ponds, and 2 of them over 20' deep in places. The other is pretty shallow (6-7') and the guy stocks walleye every year. All 3 have aerators.
