I'm 70 and best I can remember I was probably around 6yrs old before I actually held a pole and fished ... but I was probably "along for the ride" at an earlier age. My Dad wasn't all that much of a fisherman, but my Mom & her parents were avid Crappie anglers. I've been fishing every year since, except for the 2yrs ('68-'70) I was in the Army.