I suspect that if you’re trying to help your children learn to fish, one of the first searches you’ll Google is going to be something like “good fishing lures for kids.” When you do, you’ll find plenty of sites that claim to give advice on kid-friendly fishing lures.
While there’s a lot of great information out there, I have to level with you – my eyebrows raised a bit at a few of the recommendations.
I always assume positive intent, so I think some of the authors approached this topic trying to write about “Great Fishing Lures” in general and might not have really thought the whole “For Fishing With Kids” part through, but I’m a parent writing for other parents and I feel compelled to set the record straight:
Plastic worms, Spinnerbaits, Roundhead Jigs, and Drop Shots are all great fishing lures for fishing with kids.
Hollow-bodied frogs and crankbaits are great fishing lures, but aren’t great choices for kids or beginners.
I’ll get into why I like the former so much (and give you some tips on how to use them) in a bit, but I’m going to start with the lures I don’t recommend, because after you understand why they are such bad choices for kids, you’ll appreciate the four lures I do recommend that much more.
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Why Hollow-Bodied Frogs Are Terrible Fishing Lures for Kids
I don’t want anyone to get me wrong. I have a bit of a love affair with hollow-bodied frogs and use them frequently. In fact, I look forward to a few bays in Lake Champlain clogging up with enough weeds to turn the frog bite on. I think they’re awesome, so I own tackle boxes full of them. At some point in your kids life, they should use them. Just do so knowing that they’re one of the least kid-friendly fishing lures on the planet.
I shudder at the thought of a parent who has no idea what they’re doing being told that they’re good fishing lures for a kid to learn on, but some websites do just this. I wouldn’t be surprised if parents who took this advice have kids who never want to go fishing again.
Challenges with Frog Lures
Hollow-bodied frogs are easily one of the more challenging lures for an adult to use successfully, much less a child. Let’s look at some of the obstacles:
- You need proper equipment, none of which is particularly suited for children. A very long and heavy rod, fast baitcasting reel, strong braided line is basically the antithesis of what you want when fishing with kids;
- If you’re fishing a frog, you’re usually in the middle of a field of lily pads or other gunk. This makes it very tough to use anything but a frog. Thus, no dropshots for panfish to keep the action going;
- All but the best frog fishermen have a poor hookup percentage. There is very good chance you’ll be unsuccessful;
- Once the fish is hooked, you need to reel like a mad man to get the fish’s head up and on top of the weeds. If you don’t, they’ll bury themselves in 40 pounds of vegetation. Thus, you can’t patiently wait for your kid to run over so you can hand them the rod.
As you can see, these are serious problems for a parent trying to fish with their kids. Unless your kids are gluttons for punishment, frogs are not, by any means, a good lure for them to learn with.
One Plus: They Are Exciting – If Someone Notices
Now, a few people out there are making the argument that frogs are “exciting” to fish. After all, your kids get to see the swirl, or hear a giant splash, or maybe even watch as a monstrous fish jumps and belly flops all over some lily pads.
Ok… Yeah, I suppose that’s fair enough… If your kids see it, but I have my doubts they actually will.
I’ve said it many times before – most kids have the attention span of a newt. The chances of getting them to hone in with a lazer focus on a frog for an indefinite period of time until something…maybe…happens are pretty slim. I think it’s much more likely that they’re going to be eating a sandwhich, talking to a dragonfly, or peeing in the livewell when the action finally happens.
One More Plus – Your Kid Might Talk to Them
OK – in total fairness, there is one more plus to breaking out a frog around your kids: they’ll talk to them. Yes, long before there was “Forky,” kids were talking to plastic frogs. This isn’t quite what I was going for when I started writing an article about kid-friendly fishing lures, but I have to tip my hat to this.
What You Can Expect
To me, the most likely way that fishing with frogs and children will go is much less spectacular:
- You’re going to spend a ton of money on a rod & reel setup that your kids can’t use;
- You’re probably going to have to do all the casting. Your kids either won’t know how to use the baitcaster, or the heavy-duty spinning reel is going to be way to big for their hands;
- Your kids probably aren’t going to be able to fish at the same time as you. There’s likely too much vegetation around for a sinking worm to not be fouled instantly. Thus, your kids will be bored;
- You’re going to have to mess around with the cadence a bit to see what the fish want. This takes time and reduces your child’s attention span;
- Thus, if a fish strikes, your kids probably won’t see it happen;
- If a fish strikes, you (also being a beginner) probably won’t hook it;
- If you do manage to hook it, and you try to hand your kids the rod, the fish will bury itself in a ton of weeds while you’re waiting for your kid to get there;
- Because of this, your kid probably won’t land the fish, and will go back to being bored and disappointed.
Conclusion on Kermit: Leave Him at Home
I know this seems really pessimistic. I’m sure the comments will fill with people telling me about how they catch frogs with their kids all the time. If you can, good for you! I’m trying to help parents who are brand new to this sport. They should save their money and focus on techniques and fishing lures that are more kid-friendly and likely to work.
I honestly think that if you’re new to this sport and are trying to help your kids catch some fish, you’d be setting your family up for a bad time by fishing with frogs, and I don’t want to see you do that. It’s important to me that you’re successful.
Why I Hate Using Crankbaits With Kids
Crankbaits aren’t as bad of a choice for kids or beginners as frogs (kids could actually catch a ton of fish with them), but they are much more dangerous, and can be a pain for beginners to use.
Most crankbaits come with treble hooks. These are tiny little three-pronged hooks that tend to have very thin wire and are easy to jab yourself with. Case in point, I managed to prick myself just taking a few photos for this post!
I know you’re probably thinking, “But there are a lot of hooks out there with a thin wire – aren’t they just as bad as treble hooks?”
No. Treble hooks are worse because the three-pronged design allows them to stand up and be a constant danger, even when you aren’t using the rod and it’s just laying on the boat. This stand-up design also means that one of the three prongs is very likely to catch someone while being cast.
In contrast, single hooks fall down and lie flat when not in use. They also only have one point, so even if someone was hit by a cast, the lure might hit them the right way to not hook them. I’m not saying they’re fool proof, but I am willing to say they’re much safer.
Why Crankbaits are Dangerous Fishing Lures for Kids
It seems like every year I need to help Dad pull one of these out of his hand, and I don’t want to do the same for my son or daughter, so I tend to keep my crankbait rods safely stored away. If I didn’t, it would only be a matter of time before one of the following happened:
- I was caught by an errant cast and give me an earring or two (I’m not much for the pirate look myself);
- A child grabbed the lure, miss, and stick themselves in the hand with the hooks;
- Someone laid down a rod, forgot about it, stepped on it and had a hook go into their heel;
- My kids might get all quiet like and try to take their fish off of their own hook, have it flop around a bit, and get jabbed that way;
- They might try to take some weeds off their hook and prick themselves with it.
What You Can Expect While Fishing Crankbaits with Amateurs
Even if we managed to avoid bloodshed and screaming fits, I have to imagine fishing with kids and crankbaits wouldn’t be anywhere near as much fun as fishing with crankbaits alone for a few key reasons:
- Crankbaits are like magnets for weeds. They constantly need to be cleaned, often after every cast. This is easy enough to do for your own rod, but would be a pain to do that frequently for someone else’s;
- The only way you’d lessen the trouble would be to stand close to your kids while they’re casting these lures, and that would make you much more susceptible to being snagged by them;
- Speaking of being snagged, crankbaits tend to snag every single rock and timber in the lake, requiring you to move your boat in to try and retrieve them, often with your kids hovering inches away from you, and right where you need to step, when you need to step there.
It’s just a lot of busy work. If you’re teaching your kids how to fish, you’re going to be busy enough.
Conclusion: Crankbaits Work… Once Your Kids are Older
With all that being said, if your kids are a little older and have had a bit of practice casting, crankbaits are dynamite lures that catch oodles of fish. They aren’t all that hard to present effectively, they tend to be small enough that they catch a wide variety of species, and they’re effective most of the year.
I’m not knocking crankbaits. I definitely think you should buy them and try them. I’d just wait a few months and consider them more of an “intermediate” lure than a good one for beginners.
4 Kid-Friendly Fishing Lures That I WOULD Recommend
OK, so I’ve talked about the fishing lures I hate using with children. What lures do I love for teaching my kids how to fish? Plastic worms, Spinnerbaits, Roundhead Jigs, and especially Drop Shots.
Plastic Worms – A Classic Choice
It seems like every article I’ve ever read about teaching kids how to fish suggests that parents buy some plastic worms. I agree wholeheartedly. It’s hard to fish these lures wrong, and I’ve had plenty of days where they beat everything else in the boat. It is not at all uncommon for this to be a “one cast, one fish” lure under the right conditions.
While you can rig plastic worms dozens of different ways, I usually rig mine “wacky rigged.”
The first time I saw this, I thought it looked like something a child came up with – you just stick a hook right in the middle of the worm and call it a day. Well, I’m not sure on the history exactly, but if a kid did think of it or inspire it, then that kid was on to something, because this is a phenomenal presentation for youngsters.
There have to be thousands of different plastic worms out there, but the one I’d suggest is pictured in the photo above, the Senko by Gary Yamamoto Custom Baits. These are exceptionally soft lures that also are loaded down with salt which makes them very heavy. This combination of weight, salt, and texture seems to make them irresistible to bass.
I personally like the watermelon 5″ senkos as seen in the photo, but if you’re new, they do sell a 40-worm pack that has an assortment of popular colors. Pick one up at Amazon and experiment with what works for your lake.
Buy O-Rings to Save Some Cash
As you can see in the photo above, I have it wacky-rigged. You might notice that there is a clear plastic band in the middle of the worm, that I have the hook looped on. This is called a wacky-worm o-ring, and you really want to buy them. The Senkos are so soft that they tear off the hook easily if you just hook them directly. Attaching them via the o-ring as shown above will allow you to get much more use out of them, which is important because they are a premium lure and you don’t want to see them fly off the hook on your fifth cast.
O-Rings are easily available at Amazon. While you’re at it, I would recommend picking up one of the o-ring threaders available. See the Amazon link below? That’s what you want. It makes fishing so much easier and is one of those tools I can’t live without. Go ahead and click on the picture for the best price. Just do yourself a favor and buy it. This is an easy purchase that makes your life better. Without it, you’re going to be cursing and breaking Senkos left and right (and they aren’t cheap)! This is truly one of those “it pays for itself in a few trips” kind of gadgets.
What Kind of Fish Bite Wacky-Rigged Plastic Worms?
Plastic worms will catch most fish that are large enough to fit them in their mouth, but the main species you’ll catch are largemouth bass. I’ve also caught more than my fair share of chain pickerel, northern pike, and even a few bowfin, but you do run a strong risk that these toothy predators will cut through your line.
It’s possible for a plastic worm to catch large bluegills and sunfish too, but you’re more likely to just feel them nibbling away as the lure tends to be much larger than their mouths. This isn’t the end of the world – at least you know there are fish around. Just change your tactics to the dropshot (discussed further below) and go catch them!
How to Fish A Wacky-Rigged Plastic Worm
Cast it out, and let it sink. If there’s a bass near by, the worm will rarely touch the bottom before it’s bit. Instant action. How much more kid-friendly can a fishing lure be?
I’m not trying to be cute. That’s really all they need to do. After I let the worm sink, if nothing bit it I will lift my rod up sharply and reel in some slack. This moves the worm towards the surface again a few feet closer to me. Then, I let it sink again.
Once in awhile I’ll raise my rod tip less high, but do this 3-4 times in rapid succession. These little “taps” make the worm scurry across the bottom towards me. Once I’ve made the taps, I reel in the slack.
At other times I will simply allow the lure to sit still on the bottom, and leave it there for some time. This works especially well in situations where I suspect a bass is lurking nearby, such as near a bed during the spawn, or under a particularly shady boat dock.
When and Where to Use Them
You can use wacky-rigged worms all year long, but they are absolute dynamite during the spawn. Casting near bass beds will quickly produce results, and usually all you need to do to get a limit is to find a good spawning bay and start probing likely areas. If you’re in a healthy ecosystem that hasn’t been overly pressured, it won’t be long before you get bit.
I have better luck with wacky-rigged plastic worms when it isn’t that windy. The one drawback of the lure is that it is a technique where you really need to be able to feel the fish bite and also observe your line moving sideways as a fish swims off with it. Both of these are tough to feel or see in high winds.
This isn’t usually a problem, because I’m usually casting these lures in shallow bays that tend to be protected somewhat from the wind. I like to try and cast in little pockets of clear water between weeds, especially around creek mouths, points, or other structure that fish will relate to.
That can be a little tough for smaller kids, but once they get to be about six or seven, they are able to pinpoint their casts very well and this technique should really shine.
In the meanwhile, this is a good presentation for you to fish and then hand your kid the rod, as you’re normally hooking the fish a few feet away from cover (as opposed to frogs, where you’re fishing in the thick of it). You just need to keep a high bend in your rod while your child is scrambling over, and then they can take command and reel it in.
Recap: Why Plastic Worms Are Great, Kid-Friendly Fishing Lures
Do you remember the bullet lists of doom for the frog and crankbaits above? Let’s break out our crystal balls and look at what you might expect when your kid is fishing a plastic worm:
- You have a lure you or your child can rig with complete ease on equipment that you already own;
- No one is anywhere near as likely to be stuck by the hook than they were with a treble hook;
- You don’t have to mess around with any kind of cadence – you just cast the lure out next to somewhere you’d think a fish would be and let it sink;
- You or your child have a really good chance of quickly drawing strikes;
- When that happens, the two of you have a very good chance of actually hooking the fish;
- If you’re casting for your kids, chances are you can keep the fish away from too much cover while waiting to hand off the rod;
- These lures will catch quantity and quality at the same exact time, in the same exact area.
Yes, plastic worms are a winner. They get the Fishingfather seal of approval.
Spinnerbaits – A Lure for People Going Places
A spinnerbait was one of the first lures my father handed to me when I was a kid. I’d argue they should be one of the first lures you hand to your child as well. It’s hard to find a fishing lure that is more kid-friendly then one of these mainstays. The only drawback over plastic worms is that your kid really has to be good at casting before they use spinnerbaits. These are meant to cast and retrieve repeatedly and (usually) don’t do well if left to sit.
What Kind of Spinnerbait Should I Use?
Spinnerbaits come in many different styles and sizes. Though there is always a new manufacturer trying to reinvent the wheel a bit, the biggest difference is usually what type of blade they have.
While spinnerbaits come in many different sizes, a 3/8 oz or 1/2 oz are a good choice to start. These are fairly standard and do a good job of attracting bass and pickerel. You can find smaller ones that are better for crappie and other small panfish as they’re more likely to bite them, but I tend to lose a lot of these to toothier predators. In any event, if I’m going for panfish for my kids, I see little reason to use a spinnerbait over a dropshot.
In the photo below, the yellow spinnerbait has a willow leaf blade and the black spinnerbait has a Colorado blade.
A willow leaf blade tends to sparkle more, making it a great choice in clear water. It also is a better spinnerbait to use if you’re quickly trolling or using a fast retrieve.
A Colorado blade moves more water and makes larger vibrations. This allows fish to hone in on in murky water or at night. I find that it is harder to reel these in quickly as they tend to “blow a tire” for lack of a better term and spurt a bit at speed. They are, however, hard to beat when the water looks like chocolate milk.
What Kind of Fish Will I Catch With Spinnerbaits?
A spinnerbait will catch any fish in the lake that can fit it in its mouth, but these lures that work best or chain pickerel, northern pike, and bass. I’ve caught very large catfish and bowfin on them as well, but these catches are rarer.
I can usually tell if a bass hit the spinnerbait as opposed to a chain pickerel. If it’s a bass, it usually hits the spinnerbait very quickly after it drops into the water. Pickerel and northern pike, on the other hand, will frequently chase after the lure, often right up to the boat.
How to Fish a Spinnerbait
The most important advice I can give you about fishing with spinnerbaits is to constantly move. This is a technique that will allow you to cover a lot of water and to aggressively search for active fish. It will be much less effective if you are constantly casting in the same small area, such as one small stretch of shoreline.
You want to keep spinnerbaits moving, but he exact speed will depend on your situation. Generally speaking, I’ve had better luck reeling them in fast than slow. If I’m “slow rolling” a spinnerbait, it usually means that the conditions are such that I’d probably be better off just using a plastic worm or drop shot.
A spinnerbait will sink if it is not reeled in, and sometimes a fish will hit it while it is dropping, but it would be pretty unusual for a fish to pick it off the bottom. With that said, it’s sometimes a good idea to let it sink for a few seconds to target deeper fish. Once you retrieve, it will start climbing upwards, so this is a technique better used with a long cast.
Spinnerbaits are also great lures for trolling for chain pickerel, which can be a wonderful way to use them when you’re with smaller children who can’t cast very well just yet.
When and Where to Fish A Spinnerbait
I break out my spinnerbaits once the water temperature reaches about 60˚. I don’t put them down again until ice forms on the lake. My experience has found them to be very ineffective in cold water except in the fall. Then, the cooling temperatures raise an alarm in fish that causes them to feed voraciously and attack anything they can.
Spinnerbaits are fairly weed-free, so they’re great in weed beds. I like to find weedy bays that have enough clear water in-between the weed stems or above the canopy to let my spinnerbait move through the water without fouling too often, and I tend to reel them in quickly in these areas. They make for very good lures to cast in larger pockets or alleyways between weeds as this puts them in the strike zone for a considerable time.
I’ve had a lot of success with spinnerbaits at dawn as the sun is rising. My personal experience is they’ve been less useful at dusk. This might just be a result of my favoring willow leaf styles that rely on reflecting the sun’s glare to shine brilliantly, however, but I just think that fish have trouble adjusting to a fast-moving target right while the sun is setting. You’ll read a lot about how night fishing is best after things settle down to darkness, and specialty “night” spinnerbaits are available when that happens. If you’re interested in going out at night sometime, check out this article by In-Fisherman on how to fish for largemouth bass at night. Just make sure your kid is old enough that it won’t be past their bedtime!
There are plenty of people that throw them later at night, but this is after the fish have had a chance to adjust, and these folks are usually throwing Colorado blades as well.
What is My Favorite Spinnerbait, You Ask?
Now that is a great question, and one not easy for me to answer. I’ve used several great spinnerbaits over the years. Here are my three favorite:
Strike King Bleeding Bait Spinnerbaits
Strike King makes a number of great fishing products. Their Bleeding Bait spinnerbaits are some of my favorite. I value them for their simplicity. There’s nothing fancy about them, but they work very well. I’ve taken them up to notorious pickerel ponds on several occasions and they can take a beating. The little bit of red seems to be a nice touch and is something fish can hone in on. You can pick these up at Amazon by clicking the picture below.
Terminator Spinnerbaits
I got into the Terminator titanium spinnerbait craze a few years back. The reason I was willing to fork over a premium for these lures was because I wanted a lure that I wouldn’t have to bend back all the time when a pickerel hit it. The titanium Terminator lures do work as advertised and spring right back.
The only downside (and it is a significant one) is that I’ve had some of them flat out snap on me – sometimes right out of the box. I don’t know if the titanium gets brittle or what. You can have days where you only need to change the skirt on one of these and catch 30 fish. Other times, your lure breaks instantly. There’s no rhyme or reason to it, but the snaps are very rare and I’m willing to work with them.
Terminator also offers spinnerbaits in stainless steel that won’t have this problem. They aren’t going to bounce back like the titanium frames, but I’ve never had one snap on me either. Terminator makes some of the “best looking” spinnerbaits out there, and they are my confidence bait when it comes to fishing clear water. Most spinnerbaits in my tackle box were made by Terminator for this reason. Just look at this thing. It’s gorgeous!
War Eagle Spinnerbaits
Lately I’ve been buying War Eagle spinnerbaits. I’ve had a hard time finding the titanium Terminators I discussed above, and also these are just a bit more compact. Dad bought a few a couple of years ago and I got around to trying them finally. They glide through the water very well and don’t turn on their side like some other spinnerbaits do. They’re probably going to be my “go to” brand for the foreseeable future.
Recap: Why Spinnerbaits Are Kid-Friendly Fishing Lures
If you were to throw or troll nothing other than spinnerbaits for your entire day, you could reasonably expect the following:
- You’d be fishing with lures that you can use with your regular equipment;
- Your children would be casting one of the safer lures for them to use. Spinnerbaits have a single hook which is thicker than most, making it less likely to pierce flesh unless you’re really trying;
- You can make a game out of casting while you’re waiting for a fish to bite. “Let’s see if you can make a perfect cast right in that pocket” is a great way to increase accuracy over time;
- If the conditions are right, your children have a good chance to catch a very large fish such as a pickerel or pike;
- If one of those fish strikes, there’s a good chance that it won’t cut the lin. The the bent wire frame of the spinnerbait offers some protection;
- This same frame allows the spinnerbait to be somewhat weedless and somewhat snagless. It will deflect or pull through most obstacles without hooking them;
- Whenever they get tired or want a lunch break, you can troll with these while you play a game, have a chat, or have a snack.
As you can see, spinnerbaits are a fishing lure worth buying.
Roundhead Jigs – A Northern Treat
Roundhead jigs don’t seem to get as much love throughout the entire country as they do in the Northeast, but here many anglers have several in their tackle box. I can tell you from experience that they’re great lures for kids as they were one of the mainstays of my own childhood.
Although their hook is generally of a thin wire, it is a single hook and so it isn’t as dangerous as a treble hook. You also might consider bending the barb down or filing it off to make the lure barbless if you have concerns.
These lures work great for bass and panfish but leave something to be desired for northern pike and pickerel. The lures are small and have no native protection from sharp teeth. You’ll lose many! Attempting to use a wire leader would kill their action and I don’t recommend it. They are inexpensive enough that you should just accept losing a few.
Roundhead jigs can be rigged in several different ways, from the marabou style in the picture below, to tipped with small artificial grubs or even live minnows.
They are easy for kids to cast and they work in a variety of retrieves, which is great for kids who haven’t yet mastered taking directions!
What Kind of Fish Do Roundhead Jigs Catch?
As discussed above, these will catch many fish though you’ll have a lot of break offs with the toothier ones.
The nice thing about these jigs is that they will catch just as many panfish as bass, especially if you use a smaller size. A 1/8 oz or lower can easily catch yellow and white perch as well as crappie and bluegill, while still being attractive towards nearby lurking smallmouth.
This makes them a great lure for children, as they can usually get bit fairly easily. If you tip these lures with worms, that increases considerably, as one would expect.
How Do You Fish a Roundhead Jig?
One of the main reasons roundhead jigs are kid-friendly fishing lures is that kids can find success regardless of how they’re fishing them, just so long as they keep them moving.
They can cast them out and bounce them back in, do a straight retrieve, lift the rod and let it fall back down in place, or a combination of all three.
If you were tipping the jig with a minnow, you might even consider fishing one underneath of a bobber. The jighead would provide enough weight that the minnow wouldn’t go very far, and the bobber would keep the presentation up where fish can see it and away from the bottom where it could be snagged.
When and Where to Fish a Roundhead Jig
I like to fish a roundhead jig during the spring. They’re awesome lures for fishing the rip-rap shores that smallmouth often spawn on. When I was little, Dad used to just drift along entire shorelines with this type of habitat and we’d throw marabou jigs over and over again.
These aren’t going to work as well in weedy flats but they could work fine on the weed edge. This is not a weedless design and picking slime off of marabou feathers is a pain you want to avoid, but you do need to cast where the fish are, and the fish are near cover.
These kind of jigs also get some play from ice fishermen during the winter months. Marabou feathers give a lot of action to a lure that is otherwise standing still, which can be a good combination in frigid conditions.
Which Roundhead Jig is My Favorite?
To be completely honest with you, my favorite lure for roundhead jigs is one that hasn’t been sold for years. It’s this special green grub with a spade tail. Dad bought a few hundred of them when he heard the company wasn’t offering them anymore. Unfortunately, this has led me to the conundrum of not knowing what to do next. They kind of looked like the green ones in the photo below. You might pick this up and try it as the lure I used was always a go-to method of putting smallmouth bass in the boat.
Do you have a grub that works wonders for you? If so, leave a comment and I’ll check it out!
Recap: Why Roundhead Jigs are Great Fishing Lures for Kids
This style of jig offers the following benefits for young anglers:
- You can throw this on literally any rod that you own – an ultralight rod can fling this just fine. Thus, it is a perfect match for a young angler’s equipment;
- Even though the single hook is pretty thin, it’s still a single hook and so it is less likely to injure a child;
- You can go for quantity and quality with this lure as panfish will hit it and so will bass;
- They’re easy to use and your child can retrieve them however they wish while still having a good chance of success;
- They allow for customization. If you give your kid a bare roundhead jig and a few different types of grubs, you can tell them they can play around with which ones work the best.
Dropshot – The Ultimate Kid-Friendly Fishing Lure
I saved the best for last. The dropshot is hands down my favorite lure to give to my son. It is the old faithful that I know will always catch fish, no matter where I am, and the lure that I’ve used to catch everything from the tiniest bluegill to massive carp.
You simply can’t beat it, which is why it was the only technique I mentioned in my post, The Basic Skills You Need to Take Your Kids Fishing. If you want to learn how to rig one, check out that post and it will show you exactly how. For now, please scroll down and I’ll walk you through why I think this is the best fishing lure to use with kids, period.
What Kind of Fish Do Dropshots Catch?
A dropshot will catch everything in the lake from panfish to monster pike. With that said, it can take some skill to land larger fish. You’re usually using lighter line and a smaller hook with a dropshot. If you try to horse in a large fish, there’s a great chance that the line will snap or the hook will bend over.
I’ve caught bluegill, sunfish, white perch, smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, chain pickerel, northern pike, freshwater drum and carp on dropshots. Smallmouth especially seem to favor the technique as they tend to like any minnow-shaped lure, as many dropshots are.
While this is going to sound strange, you can tell that a dropshot is great for fishing with kids because so many professional bass fishermen complain about the technique. Listen to what they’re saying exactly. They love the fact that they can catch huge bass with one, but are often frustrated because they have to weed through so many little fish before they get the one they want.
This is music to a fishing father’s ears.
When I’m out with my kids, I couldn’t care less about catching a bass. All I want to do is catch a large number of panfish, and a dropshot is perfect for that. In fact, when I don’t have live bait in the boat, I use this technique as a barometer of sorts to test for signs of life. If I don’t feel little fish tapping away at it soon, I know I need to keep moving.
How Do You Fish a Dropshot?
Dropshots can be fished with either live bait or soft plastics. They are one of the few presentations where I would almost argue it doesn’t matter what you choose, so if you have moral qualms about using live bait, pick up a pack of Berkley Gulp minnows and have a guilt-free ball. To be completely candid, I have had days where Berkley’s claim that Gulp outfishes live bait has proven true.
I know my local lakes pretty well from the map study that I’ve described in an article I wrote about why you can’t catch fish and what to do about it. I therefore have a good idea of where many of the underwater boulders are. A dropshot allows me to make a cast to one side or the other of this boulder. I then leave it there and give it a twitch or two to entice a strike.
One word of warning: hold onto your rod. A huge mistake I often see beginners make is casting out and then putting their rod down. You will miss a significant number of fish if you do this. You want the rod in your hand so you can detect bites.
Use the Wind to Help You
My favorite way to fish a dropshot is just to cast it out into the wind or current and then let it sink. I let it drop all the way to the bottom. Then, I hold my rod off to the side slightly to keep the line taut. This lets me detect bites. When I feel a fish has the hook, I sweep my rod backward with some authority to set the hook.
I find this to be a great way to fish because the current or wind gives action to the lure, and I can keep it dangling in prime real estate for a long time until a fish comes over to nab it.
This is a very effective way to catch fish, and a great way for kids to fish because it’s “cast it and forget it.”
If there isn’t any wind or current, or I’m walking a bank somewhere, I like to just make ever so slight taps of the lure by raising my rod tip slightly 3-4 times and then reeling in slack, just as I might do with a plastic worm. This gives a little action to the lure and I’ve found that to be more effective.
When and Where to Fish a Dropshot?
I will fish a dropshot just about anywhere that I can find clear water. It’s not really a good technique for fishing in heavy weeds, but can be great if you cast just next to them.
It’s also a very good choice if you need or wish to fish deep. A dropshot will sink all the way to the bottom if you let it. I will fish it completely vertically under my boat just picking off the fish that show up on the sonar, which is a fun trick to show your kids.
Although I suppose you could rig the actual bait weedless, there’s just too much going on with the line and sinker and if you throw it into cover you’re going to lose a lot of gear or get fouled too often. Yes, the lure might get through without weeds on the hook, but the dangling weight below will wrap for certain.
Ah, who am I kidding? You’re going to get fouled all the time regardless of where you throw it. This is a definite drawback of dropshots and the reason why sinkers made for the technique are designed to break away.
Any technique that is designed to touch bottom has a very high chance of never returning to the surface. You will find yourself re-tying constantly throughout the day even if you’re fishing by yourself, much less taking along kids and throwing in all the tangles and hazards they bring.
What Dropshot Lure Do I Recommend?
I’ll tie anything on a drop shot from a soft plastic to a nightcrawler, but I’ve found that there is little out there that does better than Berkley Gulp Minnows. I find they work better than worms in some waters, believe it or not. The reason for this is because they tend to catch bigger fish, but also sunfish can’t rob you of your worm. This is one of those lures I make sure to restock each and every year. I personally prefer them in the 2.5″ to 3″ range, though they do sell larger ones for targeting bigger fish.
Recap: Why the Good Ol’ Dropshot is a Kid-Friendly Fishing Lure if I Ever Saw One
I truly favor this technique. I’ve loved it long before my children were born and bought my most expensive rod (used, and with confidence) specifically for this presentation. I can’t say enough good things about it.
It does stink that you’ll lose many sinkers and retie many times, but of all the lures I’ve described, there is nothing that will catch as many fish for your kids as this technique. It’s just about perfect in so many ways:
- Dropshots have a single hook that is safer for kids than treble hooks;
- They catch every type of fish in the lake and if you bait them appropriately, they’ll catch them often;
- It’s a lure that lets you quickly appreciate if you’re in a good spot, because if you don’t feel any taps soon, there’s an issue;
- They are easy for kids to cast because the sinker has enough weight to it that it will carry well;
- Dropshots work very well with the ultralight fishing rods that little kids are prone to use;
- They can be “cast it and forget it” in that they’ll catch fish even if they’re just sitting there (especially if they’re tipped with worms);
- They’re adaptable – removing the weight is a pinch if you aren’t getting bit. Sometimes fish want the worm to fall slower, and you can adjust the presentation to test this theory within seconds and without retying.
Wondering what lures catch what fish? Come check out this article to learn which one to use and why.
In Summary
I hope this article helped you better understand what makes a good, kid-friendly fishing lure. I also hope you walked away with a little confidence in four lures that should work out well for you.
The confidence part is key. If you’re just starting, chances are it’s going to be tough to get a bite. There’s just so much that goes into it. If you start with the lures I laid out, I truly believe you have a good chance of lowering the learning curve a bit and having a good first, second, and third time out there on the lake.
Again, it is very, very important to me that you’re successful. That’s why I took the time to write all of this. I’d love to hear that this helped you, and as always, if this article made your life easier, please consider sharing it so it can help others as well.
You might also consider purchasing my book, Fishing with Kids: A Parent’s Guide
Finally, I’d like to invite you to join my new Facebook group to be updated on new articles. I’ve thought about how best to reach folks and decided that I hate mailing lists, so Facebook is the way to go. Please consider liking the page so we can keep in touch.
Thanks,
John Paxton
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