Thread: How old should my son be before I take him fishing?

Originally Posted by thompmd

Best advice is don't fish yourself and the trip is about them. Sometimes we just throw sticks/rocks. Take a camera for sure.

That is good advice thom. If you take kids fishing don't plan on fishing yourself except through the kids eyes and have fun. Camera or recorder is all you need.

Took ours when they were 3 months old (camping by the shore)
When they were 2-3 years they would hunt frogs along the banks
When they were 7-8 they went out in the boat

The answer is never to young

Great post and great reponses fellas.......made for very enjoyable reading!!!!!!

I took my Son out in a boat when he was 3 months old. I made an effort to get him out on the water at least once a month. By the time he was 2 years old he pretty much mimicked every thing I did. He wasn't very good at it, but dang it was fun! By the time he was 4 he would bait his own hook and remove his own fish and from time to time smack me up side the head with his rig. Every child is different.........some take to it right away and others dont. Dont get disouraged if it doesnt work out right away.

Everyone here has given some sound advice. The only thing that I could probably add to it is............take the child to a small body of water for some boating and fishing and maybe a private body would be best. And if possible have some friends or family join you in a sperate craft or from the shore just to be there if the unexpected happens.

Good luck and hope to hear about the adventure in the future if you decide to go.

Hi there, I'm wading through this one too. My little ones (almost 3 and 4.5) love being on "daddy's boat". Yes I am working hard to corrupt them, I've got them saying "awe, they're going boating without us" every time we pass someone towing a boat. Both have been one the boat since they were babies - probably a couple times a year. Typically mom goes with us and we just go boating. The couple times we fished, well that lasted just a bit, maybe 30 minutes. Like has been mentioned, I like to take them to the local pond with just THEIR poles (no hers didn't float found out last summer at Hardy Lake if you find one) and we catch a bluegill or two and they think it is great....me too. They like the walk with the wagon, carrying their own pole, trying to cast, throwing in grass, sticks and leaves just as much as catching fish. Really, can it get much better?

That being said, I don't think either is ready for a day on the lake. Will be down at Lake Barkley next week with the family actually and I'm sure I will be pushing my luck with the wife! I'm hoping to figure out some pattern while we are there so EVERYONE can catch a few and enjoy the boat, time together on the water, and god-willing, the tug on the other end of the line.

My only advice is do some homework on life jackets. Infant and toddler jackets are hard to find starting about now. I've not tried the puddle jumper variety, but have had the other types. Get the kids in their jackets and in the lake or pool to become familiar. Right now they each have the body-suit type (both 30+ lbs) by Sterns. While they fit nice and seem comfortable enough for them to wear they didn't quite float in the water right last year when they were both right at 30 lbs.

Next week = time 2 fish

Our's is six weeks we go every night around the ponds she loves it. We will be fishing our first tournment this thursday night with the local crappie club my wife picked up a life vest at cabelas and we have a chest pack thing we put her in. WE'll see how it goes hopefully she can last the 3 hours if not we'll get to the weigh in early