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A Dad’s Advice to Make Fishing With Kids Stress Free

I wouldn’t blame you if you thought there was no way to make fishing with kids stress free. Doing anything with small children can be like moving the president, after all. There’s so much that goes into it and so much that can go wrong, and if you don’t prepare for this as a parent, you could soon find your toddler’s meltdown-fueled tears filling the bilge.

Luckily for you, I’ve lived through a meltdown or two (see the featured image for proof) and have walked away with a few pearls of wisdom to share. Here’s a few tips from a real fishing father that you might not have thought of:

Pack Everything You Can the Night Before

The morning of a fishing trip with kids is going to be hectic no matter what you do. Free up your time in the morning and avoid unnecessary stress before a fishing trip with your kids by packing up the night before. I’ve spent way too many mornings ignoring this advice, and every time I neglect to pack up for my fishing trip the night before, I regret it.

Your tackle should be organized, several rods rigged up, and the boat should be uncovered and ready to go. Several sandwiches and other snacks should be prepared and placed in the fridge so all you need to do is throw them and an ice pack in the cooler the next morning before you head out.

Lay your clothes out as well as your kid’s clothes out. This way you won’t have to run around the house searching for their sun hat. As an added bonus, you won’t wake up their mother: a critical component to relieve tension on any fishing trip with your kids!

Pack Gear That You Can Trust

Don’t skimp on your kid’s gear. Get them products that you know and trust (and possibly grew up on yourself). Resist the temptation to buy the rod with the little princess on it or sports hero. These were designed to catch kids attention in the store – not fish.

Instead, invest in a good rod like the Ugly Stik GX2 or Ugly Stik Elite. You can read why I am such a fan of these rods for kids in another post I wrote, found here. This is the gear I trust my kid’s trophies with and recommend.

Stay Away from Braided Line

Stick with normal monofilament, specifically Berkley Trilene XL in 6lb test. It has withstood the test of time, was probably the first line many of you reading used as kids yourself, and flat out works. It’s also inexpensive if you need to cut through a few tangles that you can’t undo.

If you aren’t experienced, braid can be difficult to use, and it is much more difficult to untangle. Granted, it’s normally less likely to tangle, but this rule does not apply to rods entrusted to children.

Yes, braid is stronger than monofilament when looking at diameter vs. diameter, but 6lb test monofilament is really all you need to catch every panfish in the lake, most bass your kids might hook, and also pickerel and small catfish. Larger fish can be caught too, so long as your kids let the drag do its job (a tough, but possible challenge for a four-year-old).

There’s also the safety consideration. Your kids can slice their hands pretty good with braid. They basically get a rope burn, but the line has such thin diameter that it can cut them deeply if they get excited and grab it while a larger fish thrashes.

It’s just not worth it. If you’re fishing with kids, stick with monofilament.

Bring Your Own Rod

I know this flies in the face of what you’re going to read elsewhere. Most people will tell you to leave your own rod at home, but I disagree with that emphatically. True, the day is not about you, but the fact remains that you’re probably more capable of putting fish on the hook than a young child. If you want to keep their interest, you need the action to be fast.

With that said, you are not to reel in any fish. Your job is to hook them, and hand the rod over to your children. I don’t care if your personal best largemouth is on the line, you hand that over to your kid and have them reel it in.

The only exception to this would be if they actually express a desire to net your fish. They will probably want to be the net man on occasion after seeing you net their fish (they want to try everything out that they can). If that’s what they want to do, that’s fine, but always ask them if they want to reel it in or net it.

Prepare, Prepare, Prepare

In addition to packing up for the big trip, you ought to have some idea of where you’re going, what kind of fish you’re going to target, and where on the lake/pond/river you have the best chance of catching them.

You don’t want to figure this out as you go. Remember, when you’re fishing with kids, you’re basically acting as the fishing guide or charter. They expect to catch fish quickly. Your job is to make that happen. Fishing with children is very stressful if you aren’t catching anything!

I wrote a detailed post that talks about how to prepare for a fishing trip with kids, as well as another that is an illustrated guide to fishing with kids. I highly recommend that you spend some time reading them. They will show you how to scout good fishing spots to give your kids the best chance for success, and also how to prepare yourself mentally for the task at hand.

There are other great websites that have good information about how to target panfish. For example, this article by In-Fisherman has some good tips for targetting bluegill in the spring.

I would much rather invest a little time in learning where fish tend to hang out later in the day than risking a meltdown just to catch the early bite. It doesn’t really matter what time of day you go fishing for sunfish or bluegill (which are the species you should target with young kids), anyway. They’ll bite constantly if you can find them.

Let Your Kids Sleep In

You’ve probably heard that fish bite best in the morning, and you want to give your kids the best chance at catching one, so it’s very tempting to wake them up before dawn and get them out there.

This would be a huge mistake.

Kids (especially young ones) need their sleep. If they don’t get it, they turn into little Linda Blair’s from The Exorcist out there on the water.

When my son comes racing into my room at 5 a.m. asking that we go fishing, I know I’m in for a long day.

Travel in Packs

Bring reinforcements. You are much better off if you have another adult in the boat or on the bank with you. Having another adult to help out with situations is one of the most important things you can do to make fishing with kids less stressful. Bring your spouse, a grandparent, a friend.

It is enormous help to take turns keeping the children occupied while the other adult handles a tangle, or reties a line. One adult can ask the kids what is in the livewell while the other deals with a snag. One parent can break out snacks while the other applies sunscreen – whatever the case may be, reinforcements are great!

This also allows for rapid fish catches. Two adults supporting a child makes it more likely that fish will be caught and the kid has a good time. I’ve had days fishing with my wife, father, and son where we all were handing my boy our rod one after another. It was all he could do to scramble back and forth across the boat to get to the latest fish!

One word of warning: any adult who is holding a rod and hooking a fish is “fishing” and needs to be licensed. Check your local regulations, but that is the general rule (at least in all the states I’ve fished).

Get a Fish in the Livewell as Fast as Possible

If you want your fishing trip with kids to be full of smiles instead of tears, then your mission is simple: catch any legal fish and throw it in the livewell or bucket as fast as you possibly can.

Do not make the mistake of trying for a “big fish” first. Target little fish. Bluegill, sunfish, yellow and white perch – anything small, common, and easily caught. Get them in the boat and hand them to your kid to put in the livewell.

This will “get the skunk off the boat” (meaning you’re successful as you’ve caught a fish) and will also give you an outstanding meltdown aversion system. Any time you see your little one about to take a turn for the worse, ask them to go check on that fish! They’ll do a mental 180 and run off to check on their “friend.”

I cannot stress this enough: if you're fishing with your kids, you must get a fish in the livewell as soon as possible.
Get any fish you can into the livewell as fast as you can. It doesn’t need to be a giant, either (though that would never hurt).

Name the Fish and Refer to It Frequently

This goes hand in hand with the above. Your new fish friend in that livewell needs a name. I suggest Ted, personally, but what do I know?

Talk about Ted. Point out how nice it is for him to be here. Encourage your kids to go check on him from time to time and change the water in the bucket or hit the aerator on the livewell pump. Make Ted as much of a part of the crew as anyone else so that when you need to divert your kid’s attention, Ted can captivate it.

Make sure you keep an eye on Ted. If he is the only fish in the livewell for much of the trip, your kids are going to put him through a lot of stress. Get back to fishing to try and make him some friends as fast as you can.

Teach Your Kids About “The Fish Doctor” and “Going Back to Their Mommy”

Once you put one fish in the livewell, your kids are going to want to put every fish in the livewell. This just can’t be so. Some fish are too small, or out of season and would be illegal to possess. Others get injured by the hook and need to be released immediately to give them the best chance for survival.

The problem is if your kids are expecting the fish to go into the livewell or bucket, and you need to throw them back immediately, you’re tasked with saying that dreaded “NO” that tends to go over so well. So what can you do instead?

Enter the Fish Doctor and Fish Mommy.

When we catch a fish that is too small, we say that we can’t put him in the livewell because “He’s too small and scared. He needs to go back to his mommy!” My son, being ever helpful and kind, delights in sending the fish back to go find its mom.

Likewise, when a fish is bleeding and I want to release it quickly rather than stress it more by taking it for a little ride, I tell my son that the fish needs to go see “The Fish Doctor.” Then, my boy just tosses them back without complaint.

After doing this a few times, my son started making the call all on his own. “This one is bleeding, Daddy! It needs to go see the fish doctor!”

This works SO much better than saying, “No,” as every parent on earth can imagine.

Try to Avoid Saying “No”

Frankly, if you want to take some pressure off of your next fishing trip with your kids, you should set yourself up so you can avoid saying “No” as much as possible. Only bring lures that are safe. Pack only bring rods you don’t mind kids using. Avoid having items nearby you don’t want them handling. Do these things and there’s not much you need to say no to.

Obviously, if they are in danger or acting up, fire away the ol’ N-O, but I’m just saying to set yourself up so you can avoid it when possible as there are few words on earth kids hate more.

Let Them Pick Their Lure

Note: this advice applies after you get that first fish in the livewell.

If you read just about any parenting guide out there, they all seem to say that little kids crave control yet get almost none. You can give kids a measure of it while fishing and still have a successful, stress free day if you let them pick the lure.

With that said, if you just hand them your entire tackle box and tell them to pick something, you’re probably going to have an awful time. You’ll also have a very prickly mess to deal with. You don’t want to do that.

Instead, pack a “Kid’s Day Box” with 2-3 different techniques or lure colors that you think would work fairly well. Ask your children to pick which one they want to try first. Reduce the available options but still make it their choice. This will help them feel in control and will increase their pride when they catch a fish on a lure that they picked out.

Do What They Want, Not What You Want

Sometimes, my son wants to troll for larger fish. Other times, he wants to go fish off our dock for blue gills, or even swim in the water and net fish that I catch. A few times, we wind up forgetting to fish altogether and just look at minnows or try to catch frogs.

It’s important to stay open minded. If you try to force something on your kids, they aren’t going to enjoy it. You’re out there spending time with your little ones and keeping them safe. They’re nowhere near a screen, and are having a good time regardless. You have accomplished your goal as a parent for the day. Pat yourself on the back and just go along for the ride.

While this advice should wait until after they’ve caught a fish or two (kids have crazy ideas), your trip will have far less stress if you let them run free a bit and call the shots.

Talk About “Boo Boo Fish”

Every kid should have a healthy respect for “boo boo fish” by the time they’re two years old. This is the name my wife and I gave to pickerel, northern pike, bowfin, bullhead, catfish, and any other species that could maim a child.

My son wants to hold every fish he catches. If it weren’t for our explaining how some were too dangerous because they’d give him “booboos,” we’d risk a fit. Let me tell you,it’s a tough call to determine if it’s worse: standing between a toddler and their jellybeans, or their trophy northern pike).

Labeling such fish as “booboo fish” also helped add an aura of mystery to these species. They weren’t the primary ones we would target, but every so often they would be caught as a nice “bonus fish” and my kids eyes would open wide with wonder. It’s a cool site and makes for some great photos!

Have a Good Fish Story at the Ready

You should have a good fish story to tell your kids before they catch anything. Trust me. You want an out in case something goes wrong. In other words, you want to be able to spin things in a way that keeps your kids itching for more.

Talk about the frumpy Ol’ Catfish McGilliwhiskers, and how he’s been known to pull whole rods and reels out from young anglers hands. Then, if a big fish breaks off the line, it’s not your fault: That mean Ol’ Catfish McGilliwhiskers struck again!

Just today, my son had a monster (to him) northern pike get right to the boat before it cut the line and swam off with some jewelry. I’m proud to say he handled it like a champ! He told me he was happy to have a good story for his mom! Prepare your children for the possibility they will lose a fish or two in life, or there is no way a fishing trip with your kids will ever be calm.

Please note that using this technique does run the risk of creating a minivan full of little Captain Ahabs, or just terrifying them into thinking they’ll be pulled overboard, so try not to overdo it!

An Ounce of Prevention…

Always remember, a prime objective is for your spouse to allow you to take them again next weekend. Bringing back bruised and bleeding children is not conducive to this goal! Just use some common sense and you should be OK!

If you’re interested in more details about how you can fish safely with your kids check out my post here. I go into much greater depth about additional watchouts and safety concerns on the water.

Keep Things Safe

Safety should be your priority. If your kids get cut, scraped, or burned, they aren’t going to have a good time and neither will you. There’s a few basics that you simply must cover to ensure everyone has a good time:

Life Jackets

Most states require children to wear life jackets. Even if you’re in an area that doesn’t obligate this, you should still insist your children wear them. I trust Mustang Survival with my children’s lives. This company makes premium life jackets for kids that are comfortable for them to wear and very effective. I’ve pool tested them with my children and they work. I can’t recommend them enough!

The peace of mind a quality life jacket brings will help reduce your anxiety while fishing. I recommend Mustang Survival.
I trust Mustang Survival with my children’s lives.

Wear Your Kill Switch

You need to wear your kill switch anytime the outboard is running. If your friend invites you out on their boat, but doesn’t want to wear their kill switch, it’s time to find a new friend. You need to insist on this. So many lives have been claimed because someone neglected to wear a little lanyard clip. It is ridiculous.

Leave the Treble Hooks At Home

A common theme of my website is that I hate pairing kids with treble hooks. They are dangerous and much more likely to catch a little one. If you insist on using them, make sure you pinch down the barbs.

Bring Along Sunscreen and Sun Gear

Make sure you lather up your kids with sunscreen. There’s nowhere to hide from the rays while you’re out on a boat (unless you have a Bimini top, I suppose). These days, they make some pretty good sun shirts and hats that can minimize the amount of skin that is exposed to the sun. Regardless, you should keep an eye on your kids as they tend to twist and contort in all sorts of ways that uncovers areas you wouldn’t expect (they have a habit of lifting their shirt and exposing their lower back – if you notice this, make sure you apply some sunscreen).

Make sure you keep up with this. One application is likely not enough. If you’re really interested in having a stress free trip, you need to ensure your kids don’t get a sunburn while they’re fishing. It will tire them out and make them cranky fast.

Point Out Every Turtle You See

Never forget that the trip is an experience in and of itself. You aren’t just fishing with your kids – you’re spending a wonderful day outside in God’s beautiful, vast creation with them.

Take your time while you’re out there. Point out nature’s curiosities like all the turtles lined up on a log. Let your children pick a lily flower or two as the boat drifts by. Listen to the call of the loon and have a contest to see who can imitate it better.

If you make the trip completely about fishing and the fishing stinks, so will the entire memory. If you make the trip about hanging out together on the lake, anything can be special.

I know from experience how hard this is, especially if you have a competitive streak and love fishing, but it is so important.

Don't forget to sit and take it all in sometimes. A good pointer for keeping a fishing trip with your family stress free is to let the kids feed the ducks now and then.
Fishing should only be part of the day’s experience.

Ask Your Kids for Help Constantly

Make your children part of the process on a fishing trip. You want them to feel like they are part of the team and helped to earn any success. Not only does this make them feel good, but divvying up the chores with your kids on a fishing trip will make the excursion much more stress free for you.

  • If they aren’t scared of nightcrawlers, their job should be getting a new one each time a hook needs baiting;
  • If they like holding fish, have them carry each one to the livewell or bucket;
  • Ask them to get your sandwich or drink;
  • If they’re old enough and you feel it’s safe, it’s OK to ask them to grab a rod and reel;
  • If you’re trolling with your trolling motor and need to stop, let them press the button;
  • Never forget to ask them to help you reel in or net a big fish!

If you made a grown adult do these things, you’d come across as bossy. If you ask a four-year-old for help, they feel like they’re being treated as equals.

Mix Things Up

Most kids don’t have a great attention span and will quickly tire of any one thing. Thus, it is critical that you mix things up while fishing with your children. Once you have some panfish in the livewell, don’t be afraid to pull out the spinnerbaits and troll for chain pickerel.

Consider switching spots, or even going tubing for awhile. Drive them over to something cool to look at, like a major bridge or culvert tunnel. Go for a cruise up a creek just to say you did it. Keep things fresh and you’ll keep them entertained for longer. Then, when they’ve had their fill of the distractions, go get some more bluegill in the boat!

Communicate With Each Other

My son and I occasionally forget that we each aren’t psychic. We each have our own idea how the day should go, or what we should do next, and at times he especially gets pretty frustrated with me if I don’t do what he’s thinking.

It should go without saying that neither of us are mind readers, but that’s a tough concept for a child to grasp.

Communication is important when you’re fishing with your kids. Let them know what the plan is. Let them know if you need to swing the boat around before they cast. Ask them if they need you to get the net, or if they are hungry.

Make sure the two of you are talking. When your kid communicates something with you, praise them for their great teamwork in telling you the plan. Having an open dialogue reduces frustration. Reduce everyone’s stress by letting your kids feel free to bring up their concerns on the fishing trip so long as they do so in a positive manner.

Secure Their Buy-In for Leaving

If your kid is really enjoying their fishing trip, getting them to leave can be very challenging. I know that some of the greatest meltdowns my son has thrown have come when it was time to leave.

It’s important to have something else that’s fun lined up for them after the fishing trip. This could be swimming with a friend, wading by the shore, or even getting ice cream. It gets hot out there on the boat so going out for slurpees or a sundae is a great idea and an easy way to get your kids to want to finally leave.

This also makes for more of a tradition. Think back to when you were playing baseball as a kid. I’ll bet one of your favorite parts about game day was either going out for pizza afterwards or at least visiting the concession stand for some popcorn and candy.

Go ahead and make an event out of the entire day!

Give Them Something to Do at the Boat Ramp

Launching a fishing boat alone with a kid can be very stressful. If they’re little you really don’t have any other option than to keep them in their car seat while you do it, and they aren’t always pleased about being left out of the fun.

I solved this by handing my son the remote control for my trolling motor and telling him to help “drive” the car. It is harmless* as it won’t do anything when the motor is stored, and it lets him think that he’s helping out.

*NOTE: I would not recommend handing them the remote for trolling motors that have an auto-stow and deploy, such as the MinnKota Ulterra. It’s just asking for trouble!

Let Them Wade in the Water

This should only be done in areas safe from predators like alligators and sharks, but if you’re in a temperate lake or pond, wrapping up the day by letting your kids walk around in the water a bit is a great way to finish. It’s also a good reward for them if they’re quiet and calm while you load the boat up.

If you decide to do this, just make sure you apply common sense. Don’t let them play on the boat ramp unless you can get them out the instant someone else needs it. Someone launching or retrieving their boat has the right of way.

Improve Your Own Fishing Skills

The better you are at fishing, the less likely little hiccups and problems are going to faze you. Even though it can be tough to leave your kids behind, once in awhile you need to take a “mental health day” and just go fishing yourself. When you do, work on your own skills so that when you take your kids out, they’ll be more successful.

If you need a little help getting over the hump, check out this post I wrote about improving at fishing. It discusses 5 common fishing mistakes and what you can do to avoid them. You’ll also find helpful information on some digital tools and resources you can utilize to improve your (and your kids’) success rate.

Realize that No Fishing Trip With Kids Will Be “Completely” Stress Free

Yes, this whole article is aimed at helping you have a stress free fishing trip with your kids, but just bear in mind that this is one of those “nice goals to have.” The bottom line is that things are going to go wrong and you are going to have to deal with this. The better the attitude you bring along, and the more you keep things in perspective, the better the trip will be for everyone.

Remember that you are just as susceptible to being cranky when you get hungry or a bad sunburn, so make sure you have enough essentials for yourself as well! Try to keep your cool as best you can and remember that you’re out their building memories that will last a lifetime — good or bad — so don’t ruin it!

Conclusions

Fishing with your kids doesn’t have to be that stressful. In fact, most of the angst is self-induced. Always remember that your children love you and want to spend time with you. They just want to be in your company and spend the day running around outside, exploring all the beauty nature has to offer.

So, relax, take a deep breath, and just enjoy yourself out there. Your time with your kids is fleeting. Eventually they will grow up, you won’t be as cool to them, and you’ll have real things to stress about. Never let fishing be one of them.

I hope this article helps you reduce your stress level while fishing with your kids. If you need more help, consider purchasing my book as it attempts to reduce the learning curve with fishing and help parents plan a good day with their little ones.

Thanks,

John Paxton

Live Bait vs. Artificial Lures: Which One is Best?

There has always been a big debate over what catches more fish: live bait or artificial lures.

The answer depends on what you’re trying to accomplish. Live bait is better when fishing with young children, or when conditions are tough. Artificial lures are better if you’re able to move around to “power fish,” and are required in most fishing tournaments.

I’ve spent many days fishing with both and decided to write this article to help you understand the difference between the two as well as when you should consider using each. Let’s get started.

The Difference Between a Fishing Lure and Bait

A fishing lure is essentially a man-made object that was invented to try and entice a fish to bite. Bait, on the other hand, is something that lives (or lived) and is an actual food substance.

You might think that live bait would always be better than artificial lures, but there are times when this isn’t true.

Types of Bait

You can put just about any type of prey or food substance on the end of your hook that you’re comfortable with and the law allows for, but the most common bait are probably worms, minnows, corn and bread.

Worms

The classic nightcrawler is probably the bait everyone started with (it certainly was for me, and for my kids). For some reason, fish love worms, and are quick to eat them.

Worms make a great bait to bring along with the kids because they’ll attract every fish in the lake. When you’re just trying to catch something, it’s hard to beat them.

While worms do pretty well in storage for a few weeks, they will die if you let them get too warm. I recently wrote an entire article on using dead worms vs. live ones. In it, I reached the conclusion that you’re better off trying to keep them fresh.

One great thing about worms is that you probably have them right in your yard and garden. Kids love digging for them and will have fun gathering their own bait. With that said, they are worth buying at the store if you can’t find big, plump, juicy ones on your own. You can also buy them in bulk from retailers such as Windsor Wholesale Baits, which saves a lot of money.

Minnows

Minnows are live bait fish that you can purchase by the dozen from many tackle shops. They come in a range of species and sizes and make fairly good bait. They aren’t as hardy as worms and tend to be “big fish bait.”

I spent many summers on Lake Champlain fishing with these as a kid. They certainly work when you can find fish, but don’t expect magic. If you’re able to locate a school of bass, your kids can have a day for the ages, but if you can’t, in my opinion it’s not that different than throwing lures.

Some people will tell you to go catch your own minnows. I would urge you to check local regulations before you do this. You should also only use fish from the same waterway you intend to fish. You don’t want to introduce a non-native species by fishing. If it is legal and you want to catch your own, consider using something like a Frabill Minnow Seine.

Some places, like Lake Champlain along the New York and Vermont border, regulate which species of minnows can be used. They insist on proof of purchase to confirm that they were sourced appropriately. Make sure you know the local laws and regulations.

The bottom line is you can get in a world of trouble if you’re not careful using minnows. I am not a lawyer and cannot give you legal advice, so please call your local game warden or ask the owner of your local tackle shop for insight into the laws of the waters you intend to fish.

Corn

I used to have a lot of fun as a kid at a local pond fishing for sunfish with corn. Two or three little kernels seemed to be all I needed to get fish to bite on the right day.

If you don’t have access to nightcrawlers, or simply don’t want to use them, corn can work pretty well as a substitute. Just make sure that you check your local regulations. I’ve heard of certain places considering it littering, or “feeding the animals” which is banned in many waters.

A lovely couple with another fishing website wrote a state by state guide detailing their research on fishing with corn. Just bear in mind that laws change frequently, so you’ll want to double check their work.

Bread

Bread can work very well for bluegill and sunfish. What you do is take some and ball it up so that you can pierce it with a hook. As the water softens the bread, you’re going to need to replace it as it will eventually fall off.

As with corn, you should check your local regulations. There is a chance that this could be considered littering, for one. Secondly, some places don’t want you feeding the ducks bread, so don’t be caught with a loaf.

Chicken Liver

This stuff works great for catfish, bullhead, bowfin, and other exotic species. It is very hard to keep on the hook, but if you manage to it is hard to beat. If you present this in an area where these large fish can find it, they’ll eat it.

Chicken liver’s downside is it smells horrific and makes a terrible mess. I definitely wouldn’t recommend using it from a brand new boat if you’re partial to how the carpet looks and smells. It also attracts flies and other insects quickly and so it isn’t always the most pleasant way to fish.

Leeches and Other Critters

There are a host of other types of bait. Basically, anything that a fish would normally eat can be attached to hook and used to entice a bite. Walleye anglers love leaches, a lot of trophy bluegill hunters swear by crickets, and many large catfish have been caught with cut up bluegill.

You can use just about anything but I would, once again, urge you to check your local regulations just to make sure you’re fully compliant with the law.

When It is Best to Use Live Bait Instead of Artificial Lures

I would recommend using bait of some sort when it is legal and you absolutely need to catch a fish quickly. Thus, it is my number one choice when fishing with kids. Once upon a time, I envisioned teaching my son how to fish without ever using bait, but this didn’t last very long.

I owed it to him to help him learn how to fish and to do that I had to make sure he had fun his first few times out. You do that by putting fish on the hook, not by teaching high-brow “artificial only” fishing techniques.

Bait is also great for a more leisurely fishing approach. It can be very relaxing to sit on the bank with a rod and enjoy the sunset while waiting for a catfish to swim by, or to play catch with your kids while a few rods rest on a forked stick waiting for a bluegill.

With all that said, fishing is only going to be as good as the fishing spot. It’s impossible to catch a fish that isn’t there, after all. I find that a lot of the fishermen who are using bait don’t seem to catch many fish. This is likely because they tend to wait for the fish to find them rather than going out in search of them. If you’re in the wrong spot, fishing with bait can be pretty boring.

Types of Artificial Lures

There are far more types of artificial lures out there than space to write here about them. They come in a host of different shapes and sizes, each designed to approach or address a slightly different situation. Some of the more common ones you’ll find are as follows:

Plastic Worms & Other Creatures

Probably the most famous artificial lure is the simple plastic worm. Some are designed to directly mimic worms, bugs, fish, rodents, and apparently alien life forms not from this earth. Some look very realistic while others make you wonder what the designer was doing when he thought of it.

They can come from the factory pre-scented, or you can apply your own. I would recommend trying to buy worms with some sort of scent to them or a high salt content.

A great worm that works very well is the Senko by Gary Yamamoto Baits. You can purchase them pack by pack, or buy a Yamamoto Senko Kit that comes with several colors so you can see what works best in your lake.

Plastic worms can be rigged them many different ways, including weedless, which makes them very versatile. Wired2Fish has a great article that discusses five of the more common ways to rig them.

They make a great lure for kids and beginners as they’re so simple to use. You’ll often find people (including me) recommend that you tie on before you leave the dock. These lures will catch any fish large enough to bite it.

Spinnerbaits and Buzzbaits

These lures are designed to be cast and retrieved at speed repeatedly. Spinnerbaits are retrieved under the water while buzzbaits ride along the surface spitting up bubbles as they go.

These are both designed to catch active fish as they require the fish to attack aggressively. While you can vary your speed and slow things down when times are tough, they are often fished very fast and are outstanding lures for power fishing.

Believe it or not, but spinnerbaits actually make great lures to troll with, especially if you’re with your kids. I wrote an article about trolling for pickerel with my four-year-old this year that you can read here.

Bass Jigs

These might be one of the more popular lures among tournament bass fisherman. They’re certainly responsible for some of the larger catches of all time. These are relatively simple lures, with a weighted head matched to a skirt of some sort, but they give off such a large profile that large bass tend to love them.

There are a host of options out there on the market, each with a unique design to accomplish different goals. Jigs are usually used for crawling over rocks, inching over laydowns, and swimming through weeds. There are some monster sized ones for fishing very deep and tiny, “finesse” applications for when you can’t buy a bite.

Speaking of the bite, it can be very hard to detect. I always struggled with jigs until I picked up some better equipment that was more sensitive. If you’re also struggling, check out my article on whether or not expensive fishing rods are worth it for some recommendations.

Crankbaits

These are an awesome lure for power fishing, and as soon as you know how to cast accurately and safely, you can start loading up the boat with fish by tossing crankbaits.

They’re very simple lures that have been around for some time. They’re essentially little wood or plastic plugs that have some treble hooks attached to them and are designed to dive to a certain depth once retrieved.

Even though they have treble hooks, many are designed with a large bill in the front that serves two purposes: (1) it allows the lure to dive when retrieved; (2) it allows some protection from the hooks as the bill shields them and deflects the plug off of cover.

Because of the treble hooks, I don’t like throwing these with my son in the boat. I’ll save them for when he gets older and I have more confidence in his casting.

Swimbaits

Swimbaits are a fairly new type of artificial lures, and quickly becoming one of the best. They can either be soft plastic or made from a hard material and are designed to look like live bait fish. Some of them are quite expensive (too expensive for me to risk in pike and pickerel-filled waters) but folks swear by them.

These make a good search bait and are good for beginners as you just cast and retrieve them, but they aren’t as weedless or tooth-proof as spinnerbaits as there is no bent wire frame to protect the hook from the weeds, or the line from some teeth.

Jerkbaits

These are some of my favorite lures. They look like long, skinny crankbaits and will either float, sink, or suspend at rest depending on the model. You work them by giving your rod a series of jerks in various patterns and rhythms until you find one that the fish like.

This is a very good cold water technique because it can be fished very slow and subtle. This allows you to keep the plug in an area where you expect fish to be stacked, such as in the pre-spawn.

Jerkbaits have been responsible for most of the 100-fish days in my life. If you get a few friends together during the pre-spawn and find the right rocky points, you can really clean up with this technique.

Topwater Plugs

Topwater plugs includes any type of lure that looks somewhat like a crankbait or jerkbait and is intended to float. What you do is toss it out (especially during low light conditions), wait for the ripples to subside, and then give it a little twitch or two. Wait for the ripples to subside again, and twitch it again.

This drives fish crazy, and can lead to some spectacular blowouts as fish burst through the water to attack it.

Unfortunately, the hook up rate can be low at first. It takes time to learn to make sure the fish actually got the lure before excitedly setting the hook. Many a fish got away because someone was too excited and set the hook too soon.

Frogs

This artificial lure is meant to look just like live bait. Frogs are a weedless topwater lure that are commonly thrown into very heavy vegetation, such as lily pad fields. You hop or crawl them across the top in the hopes of enticing giant bass to bite.

Frogs can be very frustrating lures. I’d never recommend them for kids or beginners. Nonetheless, they are very effective at drawing a strike at least, and visually impressive. They are plenty of fun so long as you can deal with plenty of failure.

Purchasing proper gear will improve your success rate with these lures. You’ll want a very heavy rod paired with very heavy braided line. Most folks recommend 65lb braid, though I tend to use 50. These sizes are far too heavy for most spinning reels, so you’re going to need baitcasters, which is another reason this is a poor technique for kids.

Spoons

Spoons are an older design that are still used today and catch a ton of fish. Essentially, they’re a piece of metal with a hook attached. They can be relatively flat, or curved like the business end of a spoon. Some are painted, while others are bare metal.

Spoons are popular lures to troll as they have an enticing, wobbling action while dragged through the water. They can also be cast and retrieved with a stop and go method that allows them to flutter down each time you stop reeling.

While they’re most popular with pike and salmon fishermen, bass will also take these lures.

When It Is Best to Use Artificial Lures Instead of Live Bait

I’d argue that you use an artificial lure any time that you want to get better at fishing. Every time you cast one out you’re practicing with it and building experience that you can apply later (especially if you decide to fish tournaments someday).

I also find artificial lures to be easier to use around heavy weeds and other cover. This is mostly because live bait tends to leave the hook exposed and will foul easily in such conditions. There are certain artificial lures and ways to rig them that are ideally suited for fishing in slop or laydowns and will come through without much issue.

Artificial lures are also very useful when you want to cover a lot of water by “power fishing.” This technique involves rapidly casting and retrieving to search for the active fish in an area. While there’s nothing that says you can’t also power fish with live bait, it probably won’t hold up to repeated casting as well and you may find it often flies off the hook. Also, most live bait is fished fairly slow. With power fishing you want to cover a lot of water quickly.

Finally, you should use artificial lures if you are in a bass fishing tournament. Chances are if you don’t, you’re in violation of the tournament rules!

Berkley Gulp vs. Live Bait

There is a third option. While Berkley Gulp is technically an artificial lure and not live bait, it almost comes across as a “hybrid.” It is a very supple lure with great action that comes absolutely doused in scent and attractant. The minnows especially are one of my all-time favorite dropshot lures.

Berkley Gulp can be used in fishing tournaments, though if you’re the co-angler you’d better be careful not to spill the juices all over your boater’s carpet. This would not endear you to your fishing partner!

Berkley claims that Gulp outfishes live bait and I’ve certainly had days where it seemed that way. If you get small enough minnows that panfish can fit in their mouths, you could actually go out with kids, leave the nightcrawlers at home, and do just fine.

This product is a great alternative if you have moral or philosophical objections to using live bait while fishing, but still want your kids to have a good time.

One thing I don’t like about the product is that it’s really hard to keep fresh over time and doesn’t seem to work as well if you buy it in the bags than if you purchase it in the big plastic tubs. The tubs keep the lures submerged in attractant and I find these work much, much better.

If you buy the tubs, make sure you keep them out of the sun as the liquid heats up quickly and tends to make the lures even softer and more likely to pull from the hook.

The Verdict: What is Better, Live Bait or Artificial Lures?

For years, I was a bit of a “purist’ and would only fish with artificial lures, but this all changed the second my son was born and I knew I had to put him on as many fish as possible, as quickly as possible.

If you’re just teaching your kids to fish, or even learning to fish yourself, you’ll have more successes and smiles if you bring along some nightcrawlers for the trip.

That’s not to say you can’t also fish with artificial lures, but one of the maxims I try to follow (especially when fishing with children) is to put a fish–any fish–into the livewell as quickly as possible to “get the skunk out of the boat” and just ensure that something was caught. As with everything else in life, much of your success while fishing will boil down to your morale, so catching something quickly is key.

With that said, if you’re going by yourself (or even with a little more patient children), bring those artificial lures along. Fishing with them will make you a better fisherman and you can apply what you learn with artificial lures when you’re fishing live bait as well.

In sum, there is a place for both.

I hope this article helped reduce your learning curve a bit. I wrote a book that aims to help reduce it even more. Consider purchasing your copy of Fishing with Kids: A Parent’s Guide today!

Thanks,

John Paxton

Are Expensive Fishing Rods Worth It?

My wife constantly teases me about how I turn one of the world’s least expensive hobbies into one of my most expensive obsessions. She can’t fathom why I would “need” a rod that costs several hundred dollars when there are plenty of perfectly good ones out there for less than fifty. If you’re new to fishing, you or your spouse might be wondering the same thing. Is there really a point to buying an expensive fishing rod?

In my experience, you can definitely feel the difference between expensive and cheaper fishing rods. Expensive rods are more sensitive, able to detect smaller bites, and generally more fun to use than their cheaper counterparts.

With that said, the law of diminishing returns definitely applies. There’s much more difference between a $50 rod and a $150 rod than between a $100 rod and a $300 rod.

Before we go any further: please note that most of the rods here are recommendations for parents. If you’re seeking some advice on what type of rods you should buy for your kids or grand kids, I have another article that discusses that here. Further, if you’re interested in learning if expensive fishing reels are worth it, I wrote an article that discusses that here. Check it out.

Expensive Fishing Rods Have Diminishing Returns

As you’ll soon see, I currently own eight different classes of St. Croix rods, including their entry level bass fishing rod, the Triumph, and their top-end product, the Legend Xtreme. I will tell you right now that there is a huge difference between these two rods.

There is significantly less difference between my Avid rods (a mid-tier offering) and the Xtreme series. There is almost no perceptible difference between my Legend Elite and Legend Xtreme rods, although the latter has a few nice touches.

Keep this in mind as you read through my reviews. You may not have a legitimate need or purpose for one of the higher-end rods. You may live a perfectly happy life with rods lower on the price scale.

Intended Use of the Rod

When you’re trying to figure out how much you should spend on a fishing rod, or what class of rod to purchase, you also want to consider the intended use. Ask yourself a few questions. What types of lures you want to use with the rod? How likely it is that you’ll know a fish has struck with the technique you’re using?

I use my Legend Xtreme as a bass jig rod because I am less comfortable with that technique. I wanted a rod precise enough to help me understand what was happening under the water. The Legend Xtreme allows me to feel every twitch, to differentiate between rocks and leaves on the bottom, and to make the most out of this technique.

It would, however, be total overkill for a spinnerbait. There is never any doubt that a fish has struck a spinnerbait. You could use any rod in this list below equally well with this technique. The only reason you might prefer one of the more expensive fishing rods would be that they have a lower weight, but you’re only shaving off tenths of an ounce. That absolutely would add up if you were fishing 8-10 hours per day, but if you’re just a recreational fisherman, you’re wasting your money.

A Few Notes Before We Begin

When comparing fishing rods it’s important to realize that their measurements are not standardized in the industry.

Fishing rods come in many different powers, such as medium-heavy. However, two different manufacturers could have completely different opinions for what “medium-heavy power” is. This makes comparisons difficult unless you happen to favor one brand.

Luckily, I do. While I do have more than my share of UglyStiks, as they’re great rods for kids, the majority of my rods were manufactured by St. Croix Rods. They are high-quality, reasonably priced, feature a great warranty, and most importantly (to me at least), sticking with one manufacturer gives me the consistency in power ratings.

It’s also important to remember that St. Croix Rods offer many more series than these, but these are the ones I’ve owned, used, and thoroughly tested. I’m uncomfortable making recommendations about products I haven’t fielded, so this won’t discuss every last series that they make.

I also own one of their panfish series of rods, but will concentrate on their bass lineup here. If you want to learn more about my thoughts on why the panfish series is an awesome “high-end” rod for kids, you can read my post about it here.

I feel this helps me select the right tool for the job, and also should lend some consistency to this article. With that out of the way, let’s discuss the differences between the various lines of St. Croix Rods that I own.

St. Croix Triumph

One of the least expensive St. Croix's on the market, the Triumph fishing rod is a good beginner's choice.

The St. Croix Triumph series is their “entry level rod” but that is a relative term. An “entry level” St. Croix rod is still an impressive fishing tool that you’ll keep in your rod box for years.

The Triumph series features SCII graphite and is manufactured in Mexico. It comes with a 5-year warranty, though I’ve found the rod to be sturdy and hold up well even to my four-year-old’s use.

These come in a variety of sizes, including short ultralights which are very appropriate for small children and anyone else who is fishing for panfish.

These rods are affordable and could be good “workhorse” rods for your family. You can buy two or more of them for the price of some of the higher-end series discussed below.

I don’t find these rods to be the most sensitive that I own so I tend to use them for things like topwater or spinnerbaits. They’re fine for any technique where the bite is going to be obvious. You certainly don’t need an overly expensive fishing rod for every technique. Use Triumphs where it makes sense.

If you’re interested in picking up this great rod, you can buy it at Amazon:

St. Croix Premier

The Premier line of fishing rods come in a number of lengths, powers, and actions, and many aren't expensive.

The St. Croix Premier are a step above the Triumph. They are designed and built in the United States out of SCII graphite and feature a 5-year warranty. I’d consider these to almost be the “standard” rods that St. Croix offers. They come in an enormous variety of lengths, powers, and actions, and are one of the few in the lineup that feature a spinning rod that comes in heavy power.

I wanted to get my wife a rod that she could fish frogs with and I knew she would need a heavy power brute to pull fish from vast vegetation, but she doesn’t use baitcasters. The Premier spinning rod in heavy power, fast action is a great spinning rod for frog fishing.

Recently, I picked up a 6′ model with medium power and fast action for my son’s first “spinner baits” rod and presented it to him for his 5th birthday. This really is the line where you can find a rod for anything.

I don’t own very many of these, but I do appreciate the wide variety offered and the range of applications they support. You can pick your own up at Amazon today.

St. Croix Mojo Bass

The Mojo Bass series is a great fishing rod because it isn't expensive but does offer split grips and many technique-specific actions.

The Mojo Bass Series is very popular for St. Croix and it’s easy to see why. They were redesigned a few years ago and now feature SCIII graphite though mine are the older versions with SCII. These come in split grips, have a 5-year warranty, and are a good all-around value for the money. While this series is designed in the United States, it is not manufactured here if that is important to you.

I own a few of the Mojo series and spend quite a bit of time fishing with them. My main spinnerbait rod is a medium-heavy power, fast action Mojo casting rod. I like it because it’s lightweight enough to toss all day but also inexpensive enough that I don’t think twice handing it to my five-year-old to reel in a fish.

I would recommend it as a good balance between price and performance. They series comes in a variety of lengths, powers, and actions with specific techniques in mind.

I used to consider the Mojo series a good rod for techniques where you really didn’t need a hyper-sensitive blank to detect light bites, but now that they share the same SCIII graphite as the Avid series (discussed below) they make a lot more sense for other techniques where you want greater sensitivity.

This change to SCIII might allow the Mojo to take a serious run at “best bang for your buck.” Check them out on Amazon to find the best price.

St. Croix Avid Series

I consider the St. Croix Avid Series to be the best bang for your buck. It is very sensitive and isn't that expensive of a fishing rod.

In my opinion, the Avid series is your best bang for your buck. I’d argue that after this series, the law of diminishing returns really kicks in. These rods have SCIII graphite like the Mojo, but feature a 15-year transferable warranty. That alone is worth the price difference from a Mojo, and makes the Avid series a great rod to purchase used (see my guide for doing so here).

The Avid family comes in a variety of shapes and colors. I’m kind of a “meat and potatoes” guy, so I personally prefer the classic look of the Avid Spinning and Casting, both of which are designed and built in the United States.

I really enjoy the Avid series so I use them for most of my fishing. Even though I probably don’t need a rod this sensitive for a spinnerbait, it is just fun to toss one with these. I also like using an Avid for throwing out Senkos or texas-rigged worms as I can detect bites better.

If you’re looking for a great gift for your wife or daughter, you can pick up the Avid Pearl, which is a rod designed specifically for women. These are gorgeous, high-performing rods. My wife has owned one for the better part of a decade and it has never let her down. I do wish it came in medium-heavy power as a spinning rod, however.

My wife loves her St. Croix Avid Pearl.
The Avid Pearl would make a great Mother’s Day gift for a fishing wife.

St. Croix Legend Tournament

While not as expensive as some of the other fishing rods St. Croix offers, the Legend Tournament is still a fine rod for your arsenal.
The Legend Tournament (right) makes for a great bass jig rod.

I picked up two St. Croix Legend Tournament rods at an auction once and ended up selling one of them as it was a little bit more specific of a power/action than I needed. These come in a ton of casting models and a decent amount of spinning models, and they’re “technique specific” meaning that each variation was specifically designed for a particular use.

This of course doesn’t mean that you can only use them for what the label says, but it does help you plan as you’re building your arsenal.

They come in SCIV graphite, are designed and built in the United States, and feature a 15-year transferable warranty. They really are designed more for the tournament fisherman than just a simple fishing father, and if money was on the line and you wanted a great balance of sensitivity and performance, I could see building out a rod locker mostly comprised of these.

While they certainly aren’t cheap, they’re not anywhere near as expensive as the Legend Elite and Legend Xtreme fishing rods discussed below. If you’re the kind of person who really values high-end equipment, this brand might be your “workhorse” rather than some of the more affordable options others use to fill that role.

St. Croix Legend Elite

The St. Croix Legend Elite is expensive, but is also my favorite fishing rod.

While the Avid series might be the best bang for your buck, I absolutely LOVE my Legend Elites. I own one for each of my two favorite fishing techniques: the drop shot and the jerkbait.

They are one of the more expensive fishing rods out there, but they’re well worth it. Their cost is explained by their combination of premium SCV and SCVI graphite and other quality components. These come with a 15-year transferable warranty and are designed and manufactured in the United States.

These are just the perfect drop shot rods. My medium-light power, fast action “wizard wand” is hands-down the favorite rod I own. I could fish with it all day long and it has caught some extremely large fish for its size and power, including a bruiser carp.

The 6’6″ medium power, fast action rod I use for jerkbaits is also great and allows me to work this labor-intensive technique throughout a long day without tiring. I don’t really “need” this sensitive of a rod for a jerkbait (the bites are obvious), but when you’re jerking in giant lures all day, it’s nice to do so on a very light rod.

These are high-end fishing rods and deserve a high-end reel. I favor the Pflueger Patriarch as I’m a fan of the brand and feel it matches very well.

It’s a little hard for me to recommend that anyone go and spend the kind of money that these command new, but if you can find one used, the transferable warranty makes these a great buy, especially if you prefer their subdued design over the more pronounced Xtreme series.

St. Croix Legend Xtreme

Though one of the more expensive fishing rods you can buy, the St. Croix Legend Xtreme is a great choice for applications that demand sensitivity.

The St. Croix Legend Xtreme is another very expensive fishing rod. It is technically the “best” fishing rod that I own, but I don’t use it that often because I don’t really fish bass jigs that frequently ever since my son started coming out fishing with me. This is a big fish lure, and therefore this is my big fish rod, so I’m usually only tossing it the rare times I go out myself.

I had a tough time learning to fish with bass jigs. It’s a technique I taught myself later in life and didn’t grow up on. Because of this, I found I had a hard time detecting light bites and didn’t have much success until I went out and bought this rod specifically for the purpose.

I’m much more successful now and do feel that the rod made a difference. I’m glad I have it and I wouldn’t sell it. If you have a technique that you really need to feel precisely what is under the water, it might make sense to look at a top-class, expensive rod such as the Legend Xtreme, but I do think it would be completely overkill for most techniques.

The Legend Xtreme features a combination of SCV and SCVI graphite, comes in a wide range of sizes, powers, and speeds, and is designed and manufactured in the United States. It comes with a 15-year transferable warranty.

Where to Buy These Rods

If you’re wondering where to buy any of the rods in this article, let me fill you in on a little secret: St. Croix rods rarely, if ever, go on sale in box stores. Most of the sales that these stores have will specifically exclude this brand. While you can, on occasion, find that the manufacturer itself will offer a sale for select items, it’s very rare to see them discounted at a local store.

Thus, these rods a great way to support a local tackle shop that carries them, as you don’t have to worry about missing out on a great deal by supporting your neighbor. Or, if you don’t have a tackle shop nearby, you can also simply use Amazon and enjoy the convenience of buying from a retailer you have probably used extensively in the past. Here’s a link to the rod that I personally feel is the best value.

Conclusion: Expensive Fishing Rods Are Worth It (Sometimes).

You shouldn’t let a hobby break your budget, but if you’re going to get into one as potentially frustrating as fishing, you ought to start with decent equipment. While I’d certainly advocate buying a less expensive brand for your kids, you as the fishing father or mother should invest in quality. St. Croix Rods are a great choice.

Out of all of the rod series discussed above, I’d argue that your first one should probably be a Triumph, or a Premier. These are solid fishing rods that you can be proud of without spoiling yourself with something too expensive, or light.

Neither of these models will let you down and you could pick up a few different sizes, powers, and actions in these series for the price of one of the more expensive ones. This will allow you to build up your arsenal quickly and experiment with different lures and techniques.

I hope this article and my review of the different models helped to break down some differences and give you a little real world perspective on the different St. Croix rod series. I’d like to invite you to join my Facebook group to be updated on new articles. I’ve thought about how best to reach folks and decided that I hate mailing lists, and Facebook is the way to go. Please consider liking the page so we can keep in touch.

Thanks,

John Paxton

Can You Use WD-40 On Fishing Line and Lures?

Fishermen will try some pretty fantastic things to gain an edge out there on the water, including using a common household item in some very interesting ways. Some fishermen use WD-40 to clean their reels, others spray it on their fishing line, and many even swear it works if you spray it on lures as a fish attractant. The question, though, is are these people onto something, or just nuts?

While I’m not going to claim to be a scientist or lawyer, I did some research for this article and concluded that you’re better off just buying a dedicated reel cleaner, line spray or fish attractant. That way you don’t have to worry about damaging your gear, polluting your lake, or suffering legal consequences.

I would be very happy to find that none of my readers continued using WD-40 as a fish attractant, line conditioner, or reel cleaner after reading this post. Let’s explore why.

Is It Illegal to Use WD-40 on Fishing Lures?

From what I can tell, it depends, but I sure wouldn’t risk it. Some people have reported receiving very hefty fines for being caught using WD-40 on their fishing lures, whereas other state governments are apparently fine with it (source). Bear in mind that just because a state government is OK with something doesn’t make it a good idea.

You would probably want to consult with a licensed legal professional to see if it is legal in your neck of the woods, or on a particular water body. In fact, if you read Section 311 (b) (1) of the Clean Water Act, it would seem it is illegal to use WD-40 in “navigable waters:”

“(b)(1) The Congress hereby declares that it is the policy of the
United States that there should be no discharges of oil or hazardous
substances into or upon the navigable waters of the United
States, adjoining shorelines, or into or upon the waters of the contiguous
zone, or in connection with activities under the Outer Continental
Shelf Lands Act or the Deepwater Port Act of 1974, or
which may affect natural resources belonging to, appertaining to,
or under the exclusive management authority of the United States
(including resources under the Fishery Conservation and Management
Act of 1976).”

I’m certainly not a lawyer and can’t give legal advice. However, when I read that law quoted above, “no discharges of oil” is pretty clear to me. I’d avoid using WD-40 on fishing lures as some sort of “attractant.”

Even if it wasn’t illegal, why would you want to willingly and deliberately introduce a petroleum-based chemical into your waterway? Isn’t there enough pollution in this world without you adding to it just to catch a fish? It hardly strikes me as a good thing, and I’d urge you not to do it. Fishermen are the best and the worst conservationists out there. Which half do you belong to?

Does WD-40 Work as a Fish Attractant?

One reason people put WD-40 on their fishing lures is because they think it attracts fish. Apparently, people have been using WD-40 as a fish attractant for decades, and several swear by it. Judging by forum responses it seems that people think salmon,lake trout, and catfish like it particularly well.

While I can’t find an actual scientific study with control groups to comment on if WD-40 actually attracts fish, I think it is at least fair to say that it doesn’t appear to be a deterrent, as it has seemed to have worked for many anglers over the years.

It appears that it was used more frequently as an attractant “in the old days.” We’ve come quite a way since then. Today, most people generally frown on directly polluting our lakes and rivers and I would hope you share that opinion. Even if this stuff did work as an attractant, it’s not worth the impact to the environment.

The WD-40 company has directly stated that they don’t recommend using their product as a fish attractant. I’d urge you to take their advice on this.

It needs to be said, again and repeatedly, that WD-40 is a pollutant. Even if it does work as an attractant, you shouldn’t use it. There are plenty of other safe attractants out there that people have confidence in. I would recommend Gulp! Alive! Attractant as I routinely use their minnows that are soaked in the same stuff and find they work great. The bottom line is there is no need to stoop to polluting the water ways to catch a fish when there are purpose-made products available for the task.

Also, if you’re new to the sport, bear in mind that attractants aren’t some magic shortcut. Invest some time in yourself and learn a few new techniques. You’ll be better off than risking fines or worse by spraying this product on your lures.

Will WD-40 Damage Fishing Line?

From what I can tell this is another one of those “it depends” answers. WD-40 has a chemical composition that is going to break down or weaken certain objects and have absolutely no effect on others. Depending on your fishing line’s composition or formula, spraying WD-40 on it could cause just about anything could happen.

I’ve seen many people make the argument that it should be just fine for most monofilament. They argue that since this type of line is made out of much the same stuff as gas cans, a petroleum-based product shouldn’t harm it.

People are less certain about different types of braid, especially those that are coated with various materials. It’s tough to say how WD-40 might affect those.

Regardless, it is important to remember–again–that it is a pollutant. If you are spraying WD-40 on your fishing line to try and keep it supple, and then cast that fishing line into the water, you are polluting your local waterway. You are making the water less safe and enjoyable for others around you, including your children. Even if you feel the impact is negligible, it is more than necessary.

There are plenty of other great products out there for keeping your monofilament and fluorocarbon lines. I’ve used Line & Lure Conditioner Kevin VanDam’s 4oz Spray and feel it works well for keeping my line supple and reducing memory. Some people claim it adds distance to their cast which makes sense, but I haven’t noticed this. It might just be that I haven’t really paid attention to it though. Both are better options than dousing your fishing line in WD-40 and polluting your waterways!

Can I Use WD-40 to Clean My Fishing Reel?

It does seem that just about every potential application for WD-40 receives vigorous debate on the fishing forums. This question is no different. Some people recommend lightly wiping down the exterior of your fishing reels with WD-40, especially after using them near salt water, while others complain that it will eventually gum up on your reels and collect dirt.

People do seem to at least agree this should be for external use only, and never for greasing any internal components of the reels. This is because fishing reels rely on proper lubrication, and even though WD-40 is often mistaken as a lubricant, it can break down the different chemicals and solutions necessary to keep your reel working properly.

About the only thing I can conclusively say is that if done correctly, at least this will not harm the environment because your reel should (ideally at least) never be submerged in the lake, river, pond or ocean.

All in all, I don’t see a reason to use WD-40. Several companies make purpose-made reel cleaners (such as Ardent Reel Kleen Cleaner, 16-Ounce) that you know will work without damaging your reel.

Conclusions: Save It for the Squeaky Hinges

Look, I’m as big a believer as the next guy in WD-40 and Duct Tape being all you need to fix life’s problems, but the bottom line is we’re talking about a pollutant here that could be introduced into a waterway, and could potentially damage your gear as well. Why do either?

You could definitely find people who would disagree with everything I’ve said here. That’s the nature of life and especially the internet. But FishingFather is a site designed to help parents take their kids out fishing. One of the main reasons I want more parents to do that is so that there are future stewards of conservationism and the environment.

It would be completely against the spirit of this site to take a kid out fishing and then teach them to spray their lures down with WD-40, or any other pollutant, so I hope you’ll stick to the commercial, environmentally-friendly sprays out there.

Again, Line & Lure Conditioner Kevin VanDam’s 4oz Spray, Ardent Reel Kleen Cleaner, 16-Ounce, and a host of fish attractants are all better products for fishing. Consider purchasing them instead.

Another item you might consider picking up at Amazon is my book, Fishing with Kids: A Parent’s Guide. While it won’t discuss the wonders of WD-40, it does provide several useful tips for fishing with children.

Remember, scents aren’t a magic bullet. If you’re looking for some help catching more fish, purchase the book above, or check out the following articles on my website:

I’d argue that you’d get much more use out of spending your time reading these articles than heading off to the hardware store for a can of WD-40!

I hope this article was helpful. If it was, please consider sharing it so it can help others. You can also follow FishingFather on Facebook to keep in touch with new content and fishing reports.

Thanks,

John Paxton

Best Fishing Books for Kids – A Father’s Take

My five-year-old is completely enamored with fishing, so much so that he even walks around saying, “Fishing is my life!” It’s cute, very convenient for me as I also love the hobby, and something I want to encourage. Reading him kids fishing books before I tuck him in is a great way to do this.

Over the past few years we’ve collected many fishing books that are well suited for toddlers and preschoolers, and even one or two that are better suited for older children. I thought I’d take a couple of minutes and go through a few of them to let you know my thoughts and impressions of each in case you’re trying to decide which one to buy. I also want to bring some attention to the authors (one was even written by an eight-year-old!) in the hopes that they’ll keep on writing books in this genre!

I’m going to divide this into two sections. First, we’ll have the best fishing books for teaching kids to fish. These are your nonfiction works that your child will look through while they’re planning their next fishing trip. Then, I’ll talk about some fishing books that make good bedtime stories. If you’re interested in books geared to adults, I also have a post about the best fishing books I’ve ever read. Check it out some time.

Non-Fiction Fishing Books for Kids

The following are fishing books for kids that are designed to teach them how to fish. These are non-fiction and aren’t great bedtime stories, but are perfect for long car rides to the lake. Many are filled with pictures that will excite your little angler and keep them engaged.

The Barefoot Fisherman: A Fishing Book for Kids

A solid kids fishing book written by Paul Amdadahl, The Barefoot Fisherman: A Fishing Book for Kids is structured more for kids who have gone fishing a few times, this will give them various tips for a number of species they’ll catch (like sunfish and bass) as well as some that’ll keep them dreaming (like Sturgeon)!

Kids Gone Fishin’ – The Young Angler’s Guide to Catching More and Bigger Fish

Written by David Maas as designed for kids who are just starting out, Kids Gone Fishin’ is a colorful book full of fun text choices and interesting pictures. It’s cited as being one of the better kids fishing books out there for kids who aren’t that familiar with the sport. Consider picking it up to get your kids interested in fishing.

Fishing with Kids: A Parent’s Guide

While I wrote this book for parents, it would also be useful for older children to read. Note that it is in black and white and designed for adults, so it’ll take a stronger reader. However, if you want a fishing book for your kid and they happen to be an older child, this could definitely help them. It was designed to teach parents who know nothing about fishing how to go out with their kids and be successful. There’s no reason it can’t also help kids so long as they’re strong readers.

My Awesome Guide to Freshwater Fishing: Essential Techniques and Tools for Kids

This is my second book and one that is designed primarily for children ages 8 – 12 years old. It is written in easier language than the first book and designed with bright colors and interesting graphics to keep children intrigued while they read. Pick up your copy today!

Fictional Fishing Books for Kids – Bedtime Stories

The following are a series of fishing books for kids that I’d describe more as bedtime stories. For the most part, they aren’t designed to teach a kid to fish so much as to keep them engage. These books are a good way to keep kids interested in fishing. Just don’t expect them to teach a kid how to cast!

The Three Little Bass and the Big Bad Gar

James Miller's The Three Little Bass and the Big Bad Gar is a great fishing book to read your kids.

This book was written by eight-year-old, James Miller, and illustrated by his mother, Kris Taft Miller. It’s a new take on the timeless “3 Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf” fable. This is always a good message to reinforce to children (hard work pays off).

It’s a fun read with big type face that’s easy for kids to follow. The illustrations are crisp, clean, and pop off the page. I have a ball using a weird voice when I read what the gar says: “Plishily Sploshty Plishty Ploo, I think I want to feast on YOU!“ My kids get a big kick out of it, while my wife rolls her eyes.

I think it’s absolutely awesome that this eight-year-old liked fishing so much that he sat down and wrote a story all about it. Even better, he actually went out and published it. It just shows great drive, creativity, and gumption out of this young man.

It takes a lot of guts to write for other people and publish something. This young man (and his mom) should both be proud of themselves. I’d recommend buying their book and telling your kids exactly who wrote it. Talk about how he had a dream of publishing a story, pursued it and made it a reality.

In my mind, The Three Little Bass and the Big Bad Gar lets you win as a parent twice. First of all, you get a fun story about why your kids should apply themselves and do a job right. Secondly, you get to show your children that if you have a dream and are willing to work for it, you can make it come true, just as young James Miller did.

The Three Little Bass and the Big Bad Gar is great book to read to any kid who likes to fish. The life lessons alone are worth the purchase price.

Curious George Goes Fishing

Curious George Goes Fishing is a book that will teach your kids that there are creative ways to rig fishing rods.

Everybody loves Curious George, so when I was searching for children’s books about fishing, I picked up Curious George Goes Fishing. It is illustrated by H.A. Rey and is based on an earlier work, Curious George Files a Kite.

It’s an easy read with fun illustrations. I’d imagine it would be fairly easy fishing book for a beginning reader to tackle themselves. I do question George’s choice at the end. I won’t spoil it for you, but he makes an interesting statement about another hobby being better than fishing, which is obviously preposterous. Regardless, my son enjoys it, and I’m glad I picked it up.

A quick word of warning: one of the characters is smoking a pipe. I know some of you might hesitate to expose your children to that image. I just didn’t want to surprise anyone.

Gone Fishing

Earlene Long's Gone Fishing is heartwarming book of a father and son's fishing trip.

This was the first fishing story book that I bought my son. I saw it at Cabelas one day and had to grab it. Written by Earlene Long and illustrated by Richard Brown, Gone Fishing is a great story about a boy and his dad fishing on a dock for the day.

I’ll admit I bought this book exclusively because of its cover. It reminded me of going out with my own son, and I knew it would make for a great bedtime story. After seeing how it has influenced his time on the water, it’s clear that buying it was a great decision.

This book helped reinforce to my son that fishing for little fish is fun. This is very helpful because they are much easier to catch. The father and son each take turns catching a big fish and a little fish and both are equally celebrated. When I’m out fishing with him now, he even quotes the book, “A little fish for me!” with a big grin on his face.

We read this one a lot. It’s only 31 pages with about a sentence on each, so it goes by at a good clip. I would highly recommend it.

Just Me and My Dad

Just Me and My Dad is a great fishing book to share with your little one, and makes a great Father's Day gift too!

Mercer Mayer’s Just Me and My Dad isn’t purely about fishing, though it is featured prominently on the cover and got me! It’s a fun read about a kid and their dad hanging out on a camping trip.

If your child is into outdoor adventures like camping, hiking, fishing, campfires, and the like, they will enjoy this book. The illustrations are detailed and fun to look at for kids and my one-year-old is especially intrigued by them.

I also like the subtext of the book. Many things go wrong, but they make the best of it, and have a great time. This book is a good one to read to little anglers so you can remind them of this moral when a fish breaks the line or something else goes wrong.

If you’re interested in getting some help reinforcing that message, consider picking up a copy of Just Me and My Dad today.

The Berenstain Bears Gone Fishin’!

The Berenstain Bears Gone' Fishing is a great book to read with your children. The cubs are naturally better than their old man.

My brother-in-law hates these books because he complains that Papa Bear is portrayed as a bumbling goof, and as you can see right from the picture of him catching a boot on the cover, this book is no different.

I suppose if that bothers you, you’ll want to look elsewhere. I, on the other hand, embrace my inner-idiot as seen by my post about all the silly fishing mistakes I’ve made over the years, so it doesn’t bother me and I can just enjoy this book for what it is – another great tale by the Berenstain family.

Gone Fishin’ is an “I can Read 1” level book, which means it has simple sentences which would make it a good one for beginning readers (source). It also has the usual fun illustrations you’ve come to expect from the series, so even my toddler enjoys it.

The bears do take the fish home to eat it, which may or may not be a plus for you depending on what you’re trying to teach your kids, but, you know, they’re bears–they eat fish.

I was glad to purchase a copy of The Berenstain Bears: Gone Fishin’! myself as I have fond memories of pouring over the series as a kid and am very happy to share that joy with my own children.

Edison’s Tackle Box

This is a great book to read if your child loves fishing. Every kid wants their own tackle box and this will give them some good ideas for their own.

My preschooler son loves this fishing book book. This is odd as it’s aimed at slightly older children. I think it’s because he’s getting to the point where he wants a tackle box of his own, so it’s exciting for him to read about how Edison packs up his gear and heads off to the pond to fish with his dad.

This is a good-sized read that has some meat to it. Your kids will be satisfied with this one as their “main book” of the night, but if you’re exhausted it can be a bit to get through.

Little kids will also enjoy it as the illustrations are fun and filled with neat little details. It’s the kind of book that I would have stared at as a child and I see my son and daughter doing the same.

I enjoyed how this book teaches kids all the things they need to go fishing. They’ll learn some techniques, and most importantly how to help clean up for the day after they’re done fishing! That alone makes it worth the price!

If you need a little help getting your kids excited about cleaning up their fishing tackle, then pick up your copy of Edison’s Tackle Box by Meghan Colvin today.

Fishing With Daddy

Fishing With Daddy is a book sure to melt any dad's heart.

If your kids are a bit older and you’re looking for a story book with a little bulk, Fishing with Daddy would be a good choice. There is an illustration on each page by Scarlett Pruett with a paragraph or so by Karla Carter Moreland right below it. This makes it a longer, but enjoyable read.

What I like about this book as a fishing father is that it talks about the entire process of fishing. They dig up worms, get their tackle in order, sit by a lantern going for catfish at night, go on a boat ride, etc. The book basically encapsulates all the great memories a kid can have about spending time on the water with her dad.

This is also one of the few books that is about fishing with your daughter. Not enough girls are brought along fishing, so it’s great to finally see a fishing book written by a woman talking about her time fishing with her dad.

This fishing book isn’t well suited for a toddler, but as my daughter grows older, it will be one of the main ones I read her.

H is for Hook

H is for Hook is a book that teaches the alphabet by talking about fishing. Win win!

H Is for Hook: A Fishing Alphabet is a little bit interesting to me. The writer, Judy Young, packed it full of useful content and I absolutely love the gorgeous illustrations by Gary Palmer. This is a very, very fun book to look at.

I’m still going to call it interesting though because it almost seems like it’s chasing a few different audiences. Every page has little poem about what a certain letter stands for (L is for Lure, for example). That’s the easy “story book” part. That part is probably appropriate for preschoolers, or even toddlers. However, off on the side, there are detailed, multi-paragraph explanations where the author explains what the item is, in depth. These sections of the book would lose younger children, no matter how much they like fishing.

It’s a pretty neat way to structure the book. I’m looking at this as a book about fishing my kids can grow with:

  • My toddler loves the vibrant illustrations;
  • My preschooler likes the pictures, but also likes the short poems;
  • I actually enjoy the sidebar and have learned a bit myself!

I don’t read the sidebar to my son because I think that would bore him quickly, and it would also turn a quick read into a marathon, but I could see this changing when he gets older and wants to learn more.

This is both a story book and also a “how to” book combined into one. If you’re just judging this one by the cover you’re going to miss out. A lot of the alphabet books are for little kids but this one is actually appropriate for, well, anyone frankly. Even an adult who was new to fishing could learn from it.

I really wish I had a book like this when I was a kid. I recommend that you purchase it.

Closing Thoughts

One of the best reasons to take your kids fishing is because it sparks their love of reading as they want to learn more and more, but you need to have age-appropriate books to capitalize on this. Thanks to these authors, you have that opportunity.

As I discover more books about fishing that are suited for toddlers, preschoolers, or older children, I’ll be sure to update this page. If you’re aware of other books out there to recommend, please post a comment and I’ll take a look!

I hope you found this article helpful. If you did, please consider sharing it so it can help others.

Thanks,

John Paxton

The Stupidest Fishing Mistakes I’ve Ever Made

Fishing gets me excited. So excited, in fact, that I sometimes forget to bring any common sense whatsoever along for the trip. This has led me to make many mistakes over the years, a few of which I think are pretty novel.

If you’re interested in “common” fishing mistakes, like using old line, you’re in the wrong place. This article is just for the true doozies. So, without further delay, I proudly submit to you the absolute stupidest things I’ve ever made while fishing:

Not Taking Off the Hook’s Storage Tube

It’s a simple little problem but a critical one. Many spinnerbaits and other lures are sold with plastic tubes over their hooks to prevent little kids from turning your local store’s sporting goods aisle into a blood bath.

Just in case it isn’t obvious, you need to remove that plastic before you start casting your lures. Otherwise, you might find a curiously large amount of fish “shake off.”

You can pull off these tubes with pliers though I find it easier to use my fishing scissors to cut them off.

Trusting the Weatherman Even Though He’s Trying to Kill Me

Most people would say that a common fishing mistake is failing to watch the weather report. I’d argue that a worse mistake is trusting it.

I’ve long been of the opinion that you don’t get to graduate school and become a weatherman until you’ve killed at least three fishermen. I find their reports totally unreliable, especially if they’re covering large counties with their broadcast.

You can count on adding at least 10 mph to any wind report, and need to realize that in weatherman parlance, the “light” in “light showers” really stands for “lightning.”

You’re much better off taking along a cellphone or other connected device and checking the actual radar map yourself to see what is on your way.

Storing Crankbaits in a Sandwich Bag

This one has to take the cake. I wish I could take credit for it, but it’s actually one a fishing partner keeps making. For some reason my dad has an infatuation with plastic storage bags and other containers. He’s like the zip-lock king in our parts, and puts everything he can think of into one of these bags, including crankbaits.

Don’t get me wrong–I’m not knocking the product. These bags work really well for most things. I would, however, submit that they aren’t the best choice for storing your crankbaits, especially if you’re going to put the bag inside of your pocket.

The plastic doesn’t hold up very well to the treble hooks and so I’ve spent a fair amount of time helping Dad get a hook out of his finger because of this unique storage system of his.

Shocking as it may be, storing crankbaits in thin plastic bags is ill-advised.

Forgetting My Boat’s on Wheel Chocks

My driveway is on a slight hill. If I back my boat in and don’t spend a ton of time getting the tarp just right, rain will collect in my bilge and can’t escape. So, when I’m feeling lazy or don’t have a lot of time, I just pull the boat in forward with the truck and call it a day.

Even though I’m pretty sure it would be fine left connected to the trailer hitch, I do like to take the precaution of adding some wheel chocks in case someone tries to disconnect it without thinking.

I think this is a good idea, but the key to it is you need to remember the chocks are there. Otherwise, you look really stupid trying to back your boat up when it’s time to go fishing, and could potentially ruin your trailer tires if you force it past (and crush) the chock.

Forgetting the Worms with a Four-Year-Old

If you forget the worms by yourself, you get to show off how great you are at catching fish with artificial lures for the day. If you forget the worms with a four-year-old in tow, you spend the entire day apologizing for “ruining their life.”

Of course, it’s not just the worms. I’ve also forgotten the boat keys once, my tackle box, the rod I really wanted, the sunscreen, etc. It’s especially easy to forget something with kids because you’re in such a rush all the time trying to get them ready.

About the only thing you can do is to try and pack up as much as you can the night before so you aren’t rushed in the morning and forget something important.

If you forget these, your child will never let you live it down.

Forgetting to Bring in the Buoys

Buoys are a good thing. They help prevent dock rash and tossing them in gives smaller children something they can help with. You just need to remember to bring them back into the boat before you hit the throttle, or they’re going to throw up a spray that soaks anything and anyone sitting towards the back.

This isn’t that big of a deal on a hot summer day but could ruin your passenger’s day or even make your boat very dangerous in colder weather, especially if there is a chance that ice can form.

Not Zipping Up My Jacket

I was once on a fishing charter in terrible weather on Lake Champlain. I was confident that I could deal with it as I had great rain gear. Unfortunately I didn’t zip it up and got soaked on the ride from Plattsburgh to the Gut.

This was all the more terrible because it was October at the time. It’s definitely not a mistake you want to make! Make sure your rain gear is worn correctly and properly zipped!

Dropping My Reel (But Somehow, Not the Rod) in the Lake

Reels can work their way out of the reel seat over time. It’s a good idea to check the connection before each trip and to tighten it if need be. If you don’t, you might go to cast and find that your entire reel flings towards the abyss.

If you were fishing with strong line and took the time to tie a good arbor or uni knot to the reel seat, you might get the reel back, but it’s going to take you a while as you’re going to have to drag it back in slowly by hand. Trust me, it’s not that quick to bring in 150-200 yards of line.

Burning Myself on the Boat

Bear in mind that the little metal hinges and screws that comprise your storage compartments get exceptionally hot during the summer. Forget this while wearing shorts at your peril.

This seems to be a bigger problem on boats with full-vinyl floors because there isn’t any carpet that might give a little bit of cover over the hinges. In fact, the vinyl itself on these boats can get quite hot so you will want to consider bringing along some beach towels for your kids or pets to sit on if you’re taking them out in a boat equipped this way.

These metal hinges will get you on a hot day!

Forgetting to Tighten the Rod Holder

Rod holders are awesome, if you install them correctly. Some allow you to adjust their angle, which is great, but the way they allow you to do this is by loosening them so you can position them as needed. If you forget to tighten them afterwards, a large fish will remind you.

Luckily this only happened on my dock, so I was able to retrieve the rod quickly, saving it and the fish, but if it happened in deeper water on my boat, I would have lost an expensive set up and the fish would have lost its life (it’s kind of hard to hunt while dragging around a 7′ fishing rod).

Forgetting to Take Off the Boat Straps

Everyone’s going to tell you not to forget to put in the plug, but I’ve got one better – don’t forget to take off the tie-down straps! These are designed to keep your boat safely on the trailer over bumpy roads but also do a great job of keeping it on the trailer while you’re trying to launch it!

If you keep on backing and backing and your boat keeps getting deeper but isn’t really going anywhere, you might have forgotten to unstrap it. This is a good thing to realize before you swamp your car or get your trailer stuck past the ramp.

Be careful with how you attempt to correct this, because if there was any play at all the boat may have slid back a foot or so and could be balanced awkwardly. Pulling it all the way out of the water could make a silly mistake even worse.

Removing these straps is a key step in the boat-launching process.

Forgetting Minnows in the Car

I once bought a bucket of minnows and decided to put it on the floor by the front passenger seat, “to be safe.” I then took a corner too fast and had two dozen minnows flopping around on the floor.

I only cleaned up 18.

I realized this error a few hundred-degree days later when an overpowering stench reeked from my truck. I pulled back the floor mat and found a mush that was once the other 6 fish.

Thank goodness it was a lease.

Turning Too Tight With the Trailer

Ever notice those “Caution: Wide-Right Turns” signs on tractor trailers? The same concept applies to you now that you’re towing around a boat. Make sure that you take your corners wide or you’re going to wind up with a new mailbox.

Attempting to Launch a Boat by Myself With a Weak Clip

So a good way to launch a boat by yourself is to get some strong dock line with a mooring hook, and then to clip the mooring hook to your boat’s tow eye and wrap the other to your trailer before backing up. The boat will float off the trailer and the dockline will keep it nearby so you can pull it where needed.

A bad way to launch a boat by yourself is to get some dock line with a simple snap hook and try to do the same thing. That snap hook will do just that – snap! – and you’re taking a swim.

Connect the hook on the left to your boat’s tow eye – never the hook on the right (well, unless you want to go swimming, anyway).

Don’t Learn the Hard Way

There’s a host of other stupid things that you can do while fishing and you’re going to make plenty of mistakes. While this article was written to have a little fun at my own expense, not all mistakes are humorous – there are others that can be deadly.

If you’re new to fishing or boating in general, please consider reading my article on Safety Tips for Fishing With Kids. In it, you’ll find some other mistakes that I’ve seen people make (or almost made myself), such as failing to wear their kill switch, or getting snagged on a trotline.

You also might want to read my article on How to Buy a Boat for Your Family Without Losing Sleep. There’s a section towards the end called “Fun” Surprise Boating Expenses where I talk about some other mistakes I made during my early years of boat ownership. It could save you a lot of money.

As for the dumb little things I’ve discussed in this article? Well, if you make them yourself, then you just need to be able to laugh about it as it’s all part of the process and makes for a fun memory… Eventually.

While I’m pretty good at laughing at myself (just look at the cover photo), I hope you don’t have to. If this article gives you a few ideas of what you shouldn’t do, I’ll be happy.

As always, if you found this article helpful please share it so it can help others (and if you’ve done something dumber, please leave a comment and share it with the world)!

Thanks,

John Paxton

Best Fishing Rods for Kids – Advice from a Fisherman

If you’re a parent looking to purchase your kid’s first fishing rod and you ask the internet what fishing pole is best for kids, the advice you’ll receive can be pretty mixed. Dedicated fishing websites will tend to give you reliable information, but there are many “one off” articles written by bloggers in other genres that are clearly written by people who know very little about fishing, yet are very eager to sell you something. That bugs me, so I wrote this article to try and help.

OK, but why should you trust me? Because I didn’t get a memo from my boss that I had to write this article. Instead, I’m a father of two who has been taking his (now 5-year-old) son out fishing at least 3 or 4 times each week for the past four years . I’ve also taken several other cousins, nephews, my niece, and many friends’ children out over the past decade (to say nothing of starting as a little sprout myself). I’ve spent hundreds of hours fishing with kids and made this website to help you teach your own kids how to fish. That’s why.

What Are My Favorite Fishing Rods for Kids?

I’m going to talk about three specific kids fishing poles that are best for different ages, but if you’re a “cut to the chase” kind of person, I’ll lay it out very clearly:

I’m going to dive a bit more into why I selected these three rods as “the best,” but before I do, let me assure you of a few things:

  • The rods I recommend are all rods that I personally own.
  • These are all rods that my son has used for dozens upon dozens of hours.

In short, this article contains actual “real world” testing. Not flipping some products around in my hand for 20 minutes and condensing other reviews into one. I know that sounds snarky, but I’m truly frustrated at the thought of someone wasting your money and jeopardizing the chance that your kid will have a good experience fishing.

A Brief Word on How I Define “The Best Fishing Rod for Kids”

I go a bit against the grain and recommend that you start your children with a quality spinning rods rather than an “inexpensive” spincast rod. I intend to write an article justifying my position more thoroughly, but in brief, spinning rods and reels:

  • Aren’t that much harder to cast (which doesn’t really matter when your kids are young, since you’ll be doing all the casting anyway);
  • Can be switched from left- to right-hand retrieve as needed (you’re stuck with whatever the spincast reel starts as);
  • Are much more useful for a wide variety of applications, thus, they are more likely to be utilized throughout your child’s life.

I don’t think you’ll get your money’s worth out of one of the “kid’s combos” that have the latest princess or superhero on it. I’d rather make a recommendation for a setup that you could see your child using for many years, and one that you might even use in a pinch.

The Best Fishing Rod for Toddlers: the Zebco Dock Demon

This was my son’s first fishing rod. It was perfect for casting indoors, and also would make a good ice fishing rod in a pinch.

My son started fishing with a Zebco Dock Demon spinning rod. At just over 2.5′ long, you’d be hard-pressed to find a rod that would fit a toddler better. It was the perfect size for casting around our house while I was teaching him how to reel in a lure. I appreciate the way it can be used in tight quarters!

This rod is extremely durable and stood up to everything my son did with it. This, of course, was to mostly whack the couch and drag the rod behind him in the dirt. It stood up to several months of aggressive use by a toddler without any issue.

You can find this rod with a combo that comes with a simple reel that is about all that you need for learning purposes. It is not as durable as the rod, but if you’re just teaching your kid to reel with it, this doesn’t matter.

When/if the reel breaks, the rod will accept another standard spinning reel. I’d be surprised to find your kids break it before they outgrow it.

Fishing with my son
My son fishing with his Zebco Dock Demon.

Why the Zebco Dock Demon Is a Great Fishing Pole for Small Kids:

The Zebco Dock Demon is one of the best fishing poles for small kids for several reasons:

  • It’s a small rod that does well for teaching your kids how to reel in a lure inside;
  • The Zebco Dock Demon is a great fishing rod for a very small child to handle without any fatigue or issues in real fishing conditions;
  • It is a good “toy” rod that allows your child to act like you while you are fishing and waiting to hook something to hand them to reel in;
  • The Zebco Dock Demon makes a plausible ice fishing rod.
  • You could also use it to vertical jigging right over the boat.

My son really enjoyed this product and it worked very well for my family. I would buy it again for my daughter, but I don’t need to, as our original one still works fine. To me, that is a testament to its durability. I would recommend this for your own family. If you’re interested in buying one, Amazon usually has it in stock for a very competitive price.

The Best Fishing Pole for Kids: the Shakespeare Ugly Stik Elite

The Ugly Stik Elite has quickly become a workhorse for my family.

I like the Shakespeare Ugly Stik Elite so much that I own six of them and often pick one up while I’m fishing with my son. This was his first “real” rod. The objective was for him to use it to catch fish rather than as a learning aide to help with the basic mechanics of reeling as he did with the Dock Doctor.

They are darn near unbreakable and are fairly sensitive fishing poles that detect bites pretty well and are great for kids. They’re definitely not as sensitive as a “high-end” rod but you won’t have trouble knowing that a fish is on the line.

Ugly Stiks are renowned for their durability and can put up with a ton of abuse. They are true workhorse rods that will get your kids through their more rambunctious years and could very well last as long as your kids interest in fishing does. I can attest to this as my son has reeled in fish on some of the first Ugly Stiks that I used 30 years ago!

How Long of a Fishing Pole Does a Child Need?

You can purchase an Ugly Stik Elite in lengths from 4’6″ to 7’6″ which makes it ideal for beginners of all sizes. I have several 4’6″ and 5′ models that I bought for my son between the time he was 2 and 4 years old. I’d recommend a similar size for a kid that small. Once they get a bit older, you can upgrade them to a 6′ or 6’6″ model.

The 4’6″ and 5′ long fishing poless make fighting panfish fun, so literally any fish your kids catch is going to tug and bend the rod for them. A little bit of drama never hurt anyone!

If you’re worried about how the smaller Ugly Stik’s will hold up in case your kid hooks a larger fish, I can personally attest that they can stand up well enough to larger fish such as catfish as seen in the photo below:

Ugly Stik makes some of the best kids fishing rods. They are renowned for their durability, so even their light models will stand up well to larger fish.

Though you can purchase these rods as a rod/reel combo, these are “main” fishing rods for my family, so I went out and bought specific reels for them. They balance very well with Pflueger President spinning rods in the 6920 size.

If this is your child’s first fishing pole, it might be best to get the reel that comes with the combo, but this company is known for its rods more so than its reels. I think you’ll end up wanting to replace the reel if your kids stick with this hobby.

Why the Ugly Stik Elite is My Favorite Fishing Rod for Kids:

In sum, I recommend the Ugly Stik Elite as your main fishing rod for kids for the following reasons:

  • This workhorse is darn near unbreakable, even by kids;
  • It has a good amount of sensitivity for the price and can detect bites from panfish just fine;
  • I can tell you from experience that it holds up very well against larger fish like catfish and freshwater drum;
  • It has a nice finish. I like the cork rod and the subtle graphics. It looks like a true fishing rod, rather than a toy;
  • The balance of price, performance, and durability makes it the most rationale choice for building out your arsenal of children’s fishing rods.

Honorable Mention – The Ugly Stik GX2

Shakespeare manufactures another Ugly Stik that gives the Elite a run for its money for the tile of “Best Fishing Pole for Kids,” the GX2. The GX2 costs slightly less money than the Elite (though be sure to check Amazon for the best price, as the Elite often matches the price of the GX2). The difference between the two is fairly negligible:

  • The GX2 comes with a black EVA foam handle whereas the Elite has a cork handle;
  • The 4’6″ ultralight GX2 only has 5 line guides compared to the Elite’s 6 (note: the GX2 comes in many sizes, I merely picked one for the comparison);

With the two I compared, both were rated for the same size of lure and line, so it’s really going to come down to your preference of handle more than anything else. I prefer cork, so I bought the Elite for my son. My dad purchased several GX2s for himself as he thinks they “look” more like a traditional Ugly Stik.

The Best “High-End” Fishing Rod for Kids: the St. Croix Panfish Series

Let me just start by saying something loud and clear: do not buy the rod I’m about to describe to you unless your kid definitely loves fishing. If your child is just starting to fish, go buy the Dock Demon or one of the Ugly Stiks I discussed above, and let them start with that.

If, however, you’re in the market for a “high-end” rod for your little angler, you can’t go wrong with the Panfish Series by St. Croix rods. They are light weight (our 5′ model weighs 2.2 oz), extremely sensitive, and make catching little fish an absolute ball!

My son calls this his “birthday rod” and gets annoyed with me if I use it, but I can’t help myself. If he gets distracted I always have to say something like, “Hey buddy, why not let your old man throw this one out really far for you!”

It just is a dream to fish and I might have to get a few more. It’s a very sensitive rod that allows you feel bites much better than the Ugly Stiks, and therefore catch more fish. It also seems to cast the same drop shot a little further, even though I’ve paired it with the same Pflueger President 6920.

With that said, these benefits come at a cost. It is much more expensive than the Ugly Stiks and I’d imagine it has to be more fragile (Luckily, my son has yet to confirm this). At least I have the peace of mind to know it comes with a solid warranty.

The panfish series is at a great price point where it is expensive but not prohibitively so. This helps give the rod an aura of mystique for your children and will let them take pride in the knowledge that they’ve been trusted with something important without your needing to mortgage the house.

The St. Croix panfish is a quality rod for any little angler who is in love with the sport of fishing.

Why I love My Son’s St. Croix Panfish Series:

If you’re looking for a great high-end fishing rod for kids, I recommend the St. Croix panfish series for the following reasons:

  • While it is more expensive than the Ugly Stiks, it is not ridiculously so and remains in the realm of “reasonableness” if your children are serious about fishing;
  • It’s a great performing rod that makes fighting smaller fish like panfish a ton of fun;
  • The St. Croix Panfish series is much more sensitive than the Ugly Stiks and will allow you to better detect bites;
  • It’s just a great “special gift” to give your little angler. It’s the first true “valuable” that my son has owned, and it gives him a sense of pride.

Honorable (but Totally Unrealistic) Mentions

When I was searching for my son’s “birthday rod,” I also considered the Avid series in a 5’6 ultralight size. It is a little bit nicer of a rod, but I couldn’t justify the extra expense for a four-year-old.

I own about 20 St. Croix rods of various types and the experience has led me to believe that the Avid line of rods is normally St. Croix’s best bang for your buck, but when it comes to a good rod for kids, even I have to admit that they’re simply overkill.

There are several other options from St. Croix (such as the Legend Elite Panfish) that are significantly more expensive, light, and sensitive. I can’t in good conscious recommend those for a small child. They don’t need that sensitive of a rod and any benefit would be lost on them. With that said, it would make for a very well-received birthday gift.

If you’re in the market for one, have your kids get it for you on Mother’s or Father’s Day to show appreciation for how hard you work to put them on fish!

What to Know Before You Buy a Fishing Rod for Your Kids

Look, I know that I’m advocating starting off with good equipment here. That can be a bit counter-intuitive, especially if you don’t know if the hobby will stick.

The temptation is probably strong to just cave and buy some cheap little spincast combo with the latest princess on it and call it a day, but I honestly think you would be wasting your money and doing your kids a disservice.

Get them the right equipment from the start. Give them an honest chance at doing well enough at this sport to become infatuated with it. Don’t set them up for failure by buying junk destined for a cobwebbed corner of your garage. Get them something they can be proud of and use!

Granted, gear alone does not make an angler. If you need more help teaching your kids how to fish, check out some of my other articles that can help reduce your learning curve and spark your kid’s passion for fishing.

Suggested Reading

If you’re completely new, I’d start with my article on the basic skills you need to take your kids fishing. This article will set you up with all the equipment that you need and teach you how to tie a knot, rig a drop shot, find a good fishing spot, cast the rod, reel in and land a fish.

I hope this article gave you actionable information and cut down the learning curve a bit. As always, if you found this article helpful, please consider sharing it so that it can help others.

I would like to point out that I have a book for sale, Fishing with Kids: A Parent’s Guide that dives into this and several other topics. If you enjoyed this post, please consider purchasing it.

Thanks,

John Paxton

Want to learn how to take your kids out fishing? Do you have a friend who might need a hand? Click the pictures below to purchase my helpful books!


How Do You Land a Fish Without a Net? 6 Ways That Work

There’s going to come a day when you don’t have your net. Maybe you efigured you didn’t need it and left it at home. Perhaps your kid dropped it in the water. Given Murphy’s Law, that will probably be the same day that someone in the boat hooks the largest fish of their life. So, how do you land a fish without a net?

There are six good ways to land a fish without a net: (1) Grab the fish by its mouth. (2) Cradle the fish by its belly. (3) Lift the fish by the back. (4) Grab the fish by its gill plate. (5) Swing them in the boat. (6) Fashion a lasso of sorts and loop it around the fish.

Let’s take a closer look at these options so you are ready when the time comes to land a fish by hand.

Assess the Situation to Choose the Best Response

Before you decide on one of those five options, you need to assess the situation. You have three main concerns:

  1. The type of fish on the line, and if it has teeth or other sharp defenses;
  2. What type of lure you’re using, and where the fish is hooked;
  3. What is best for the fish.

You’re not going to want to lip a northern pike as you’ll end up losing your finger. Likewise, you’d need to be careful about going for the back of a neck of a bullhead, as you could be painfully finned.

You also need to consider where the hook is attached before you stick your hand near the fish. For example, it would make little sense to approach the left gill plate if there was a hook dangling right next to it.

Finally, you need to consider the fish itself. If you intend to release the fish after a photo, then you need to do your best to ensure its well-being. A very large fish shouldn’t be lifted from its mouth of gill plate without also supporting its body.

I’d also like to make it clear that you should never attempt to drag a fish onto shore. This will rub off their protective slime and could push rocks, twigs, and other debris into their gills. This would be disastrous for their health and they might perish soon after.

As exciting as the whole situation is, you need to remember to look before you act. Try to make the safest decision possible for you and the fish. In another post I mentioned several species-specific safety tips for fishing with kids.

1. Land a Fish by Its Mouth

Certain fish, like bass, can be held by the mouth. This is a common way to land fish without a net, and the method often employed in B.A.S.S. Elite tournaments that don’t allow their anglers to use a net.

The most common place to grab is their lower lip. For smaller fish, this is usually done by placing your thumb inside the mouth and pinching it tightly against your pointer and middle finger, which remain on the outside.

I’ll sometimes reverse the hold for larger fish, and place my four main fingers into its mouth and press against my thumb which is on the outside. This might not look as great for photos, but it gives me a better hold.

Whatever you choose, it puts you in a predicament. After all, didn’t the fish just eat the lure with their mouth? You want to be very careful and understand if you truly have room to reach in and grab the mouth. If you misjudge, you could be hooked yourself.

When you do latch on, you’d better latch on HARD. Ensure that the fish can’t shake off and immediately jab you. There are few situations worse than finding yourself connected to the thrashing head of a powerful fish by the same treble hook.

If you’re not careful, you can also hurt the fish by doing this. When lifting a bass by the mouth it is very important that you try to lift as vertically as possible. If you lift it at a 3/4 angle, you’ll put undue stress on its jaw and run the risk of breaking the only method it has to eat.

If you need to hold it this way, you want to support its body by the belly at the same time. Failing to do this will mean that most of the weight of the fish is pulling down on the jaw, stretching and stressing it.

When grabbing a bass by the mouth, ensure that you hold it vertically to minimize chance of injury to the fish.

2. Land a Fish by Its Belly

You’ll often see professional fishermen fight a fish over to the side of their bass boat, sit down in the drivers seat, and then lean over their boat to cradle the fish in their arm and lift the fish out by its belly.

While this is a good way to get wet, it’s also much safer for you than trying to fit your fingers perfectly into a mouth that’s full of hooks. Thus, it can be an ideal way to land fish if you forget your net.

It also is ideal if you’re using very light line or the fish isn’t hooked very well. This is because when you try to grab a fish by the mouth, you have a tendency to pull the fish’s head up out of the water to get a better angle. If you try and do this with light line or a fish that’s barely hooked, the lack of water supporting the weight of either could spell disaster.

This technique also seems to calm bass down–especially smallmouth. This is good because smallmouth tend to fight like crazy all the way to the boat. If you can cradle them under their belly, they lose a lot of this fight and start cooperating better. This makes it more likely that you can manage to get them in the boat.

Larger fish should be supported by their belly. It’s also a much more practical way of getting some into the boat, like gar.

3. Grabbing a Fish by the Back

Some fish, like bullhead and smaller catfish, are best held by their back. This is because these fish have sharp spines on their dorsal and pectoral fins that can leave quite the welt.

To accomplish this, brace the webbing between your pointer finger and thumb against the dorsal spine so the tip of it can’t harm you as seen in the photo below.

Ensure you're careful about spiny dorsal fins on catfish and bullhead lest you get spined while trying to land or handle these fish without a net!
Catfish aren’t the easiest fish to land without a net, but it is possible.

4. Land the Fish by Its Gill Plate

Northern pike and other toothy critters can be safely lifted by grabbing their gill plate. Note that I said gill plate and not gills. You should never lift a fish by its gills as that will severely injure it (imagine being carried around by your lungs).

This is a full-hand technique where you want to curl your four fingers so your hand resembles a “C” (backwards in the case of your right hand). Your four fingers go into the space between the last gill and the gill plate. The pads of your fingers will press against the gill plate and the back of your fingers would face towards (but do not touch) the last gill.

Because you’re placing your hand awfully close to a mouth full of teeth, this hold can be somewhat intimidating, but it’s important to use this grip with authority so that you can control the fish and prevent it from thrashing.

Note how my fingers are curled inside the gill plate, allowing a strong grip of this fish.

It should be noted that this isn’t actually the best way to hold a larger pike. The pressure of hanging vertically can damage their internal organs. A fish much larger than the one above would be better off being held by the gill plate in a more horizontal fashion, while supporting the rest of its body weight further down along its belly.

5. Swing the Fish Into the Boat

You’ll notice that many professional bass fishermen swing their fish into their boats. While this is clearly a favorite method of landing fish for professionals who aren’t allowed to use a net, if you try this yourself under the wrong conditions you’ll quickly find that it doesn’t work for every situation!

The basic theory of this technique is that you use the fish’s own momentum to swing it up in into the boat. This makes this is a split-decision type of thing. As the fish is approaching the boat, try to get a look at how well it is hooked. If you think it is hooked well enough, proceed forward.

Once the fish is on its way to the boat, “choke up” on the rod a bit. Place one hand slightly above the reel seat and the other on the but of the rod to give yourself some more leverage.

As the fish’s head is within range, swing it in with one fluid motion. Do your best to grab the fish while it is in the air and without letting it touch the deck so as to minimize injury to your prize.

Swinging fish into the boat is risky for many reasons:

  • The hook can tear out from the fish when you start your swing. This is especially likely if the fish is barely hooked or you’re using a thin hook.
  • The fish’s weight can cause your line to snap.
  • If you’re attempting this with too large of a fish on too weak of a rod, your rod can break.
  • You could seriously injure the fish. This is not a gentle way to land them, especially if you let them slam into your boat at the end of the swing.

If you’re going to try this on all but the smallest fish, make sure you have are fishing with a strong hook, strong line, and a strong rod.

6. Who Needs a Net? Land the Fish Using a Lasso

I have never used this technique but apparently it is easy enough for kids to use.

I was recently watching a video of a group of kids using this technique on a giant sturgeon they found while tubing in a local river.

Basically, they tied a noose and managed to loop it around the fish. They then pulled it tight, and dragged the fish to shore as seen in their YouTube video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kywVyn-NUAE

I would caution you to check your local regulations before attempting this with any sturgeon that you see. There are many areas in the country where this species is endangered and you aren’t allowed to fish for them, period.

These kids didn’t do anything wrong – they caught it during the open “catch and release” season for the fish in their state. As you can see, did just that. I’m just saying, different states have different rules, so know yours.

Conclusions

There are few things more exciting about having a huge fish on the end of your line. Unfortunately, there are few things more dejecting than realizing that you don’t have a net to land it! Even so, with these six tips, you should have a decent chance to successfully land even large fish without a net so you can take a quick photo.

If this all seems a bit much for you, by all means purchase a net. In general, it will be safer for you and for the fish if you use one, but bear in mind that there are also things that can go wrong there. I wrote another post that discusses how to net a fish that you can check out once you own one.

As always, if you found this article helpful, please consider sharing it so it can help others. If you enjoyed these tips, consider purchasing my book for many more.

Thanks,

John Paxton

How to Net a Fish – The Proper Way to Land A Trophy

There are few moments in life more thrilling than watching your child gleefully fight their first large fish, but their happiness can soon turn to heartbreak if you don’t know how to use a landing net.

To give yourself the best chance of being the hero and successfully netting the fish, you always want to net the fish head first in a scooping motion, being careful not to hit it with any part of the net that isn’t mesh as that could knock it off the hook.

If you’ve never had to net a fish before, this can all be a little scary. All the same, the fact that you’re reading this ahead of time will help to get you through it. Let’s talk more about the different steps to landing a fish, what type of net you should use, and what to do if you need to land a fish without a net.

How to Land a Fish With a Net

When you or your fishing buddy has a large fish thrashing on the line, your objective is to make sure that fish gets into the landing net. Your goal, after all, is to pull it into the boat without it breaking off the hook.

Communicate With Your Fishing Partner

The very step is simply to communicate with your partner, be they your tournament co-angler or just your four-year-old. You both need to be on the same page and identify what each other is trying to do, and where each other is going to position themselves.

If you’re netting the fish for an adult, let them tell you what they want you to do. They’ll have a better idea if the fish is going to keep making runs or if it is tiring. Further, they’ll know where they plan to bring the fish near the boat. Let them tell you which side of the boat they plan to go to, and then stand near them but out of their way with the net ready.

If you’re netting the fish for your child, you need to take charge. Coach them through what they should do so you can land it. The most important thing to tell them is not to horse it in. It’s unlikely that a fish is going to spit the hook near the boat if constant pressure is kept on it. It is much more likely to snap the line, especially if your kid tries to lift it out of the water and towards the net.

Make Sure the Fish is Ready for the Net

A fish needs to be properly fought and ready for the net. While you don’t want to overly stress them, you do want them tired enough that they go into the net easily rather than making a sudden plunge.

The mere fact that a fish happens to be right next to the boat does not necessarily mean it is ready to be netted. Certain fish, like northern pike and chain pickerel, are renowned for following a lure right to the boat before biting. Attempting to net them immediately would be a mistake.

Play the fish out, and make sure it is ready and under control before you attempt to net it.

When trolling, a fish will let you know it is ready because it will tend to come in on its side, “surfing” through the water rather than continuing to fight. If you’re just drifting or sitting still, you’ll know they’re ready because they’ll stop fighting and will glide along wherever your rod leads them.

Position the Landing Net in the Water at an Angle

You’ll hear some people say that you shouldn’t put the net in the water until the last moment. I disagree. If you wait until the fish is close to suddenly plunge the net in, there’s a good chance you’ll end up hitting the fish and knocking it off the hook.

You are better off placing the net about 3/4 of the way in the water at about a 45˚ angle. You would then have your fishing partner guide the fish into the net with their rod, rather than jabbing towards the fish with your net.

Be Ready to Pull Back and Out of the Way

If you misjudged the fish and it continues fighting, be ready to pull the net away. If a fish hits its head or the line against the net’s rim, there’s a good chance that this will provide enough leverage to dislodge the hook. You’re better off just pulling back and waiting to try again.

Bring the Fish in Head First and Scoop It Up

You should position yourself so that you can net the fish head first. This is a little counter-intuitive. You would expect the fish to see this and get scared, but it’s hard for a fish to turn 180˚ in a tight space with a hook in its mouth. In contrast, there is nothing stopping a fish from surging or jumping if it feels the net touch its tail. If you try to net the fish from behind, chances are you’ll lose it.

While it’s usually best to let the other angler guide the fish into the net with their rod, this isn’t always possible, especially if you’re with kids, so you might need to go after the fish. This should be done with a scooping motion and never a jabbing motion. Again, you want the fish in the center of the net. You do not want to knock them off with the rim.

Once the fish is in the net, don’t delay. Scoop it up and out of the water and bring it into the boat. You’ll find that doing this often dislodges the hook so don’t play around with the fish. Get it out of the water where it might thrash and escape and safely into the boat.

Be Careful of Hooks

It’s pretty easy to get jabbed by a hook that’s in the net. Depending on how the fish is positioned, it can move the netting substantially with any jerk. I’d strongly urge you to grab the lure with some pliers and toss it over the side of the boat. Get it out of the way before you attempt to lift the fish for a photo.

What Type of Landing Net Do I Need?

You’re going to need a net large enough for the fish you intend to catch. It is very difficult to to land one if your net is too small. My father and I were fishing for longnose gar one day and just had a heck of a time landing them. All we had was a bass net. Trying to fit a 3-4′ long fish into a net designed for a 20″ bass is a very frustrating experience and we wound up losing most of them.

With that said, giant nets take up a giant amount of space. There are some models that will fold up for storage but it’s not really practical to keep them folded because that makes it challenging to have them at the ready.

I found this out the hard way. $200 later, I have a gar-sized net that rarely leaves my tackle room. It just isn’t practical to bring it along unless I’m specifically targeting that species. This is very rare, so it probably wasn’t the best buy.

It’s really a “goldilocks” situation where you’re trying to find a good balance between size and storage, but you should buy a net that is large enough for the fish you’re most likely to frequently encounter.

Also, don’t let me scare you too much with the longnose gar example. They’re a weird fish that have a long, hard snout that doesn’t bend, so you really can’t fit them in a small net. The same bass net that gave me fits with the gar has handled 10lb northern pike without an issue. I’d recommend you go with a bass net for every day use unless you’re targeting king salmon or some other giant species regularly.

Are Rubber Nets Better for Fish?

Rubber nets (and rubber-coated mesh) are indeed better for the fish than fiber mesh nets. This is because they don’t scrape away the fish’s protective slime as badly as a mesh net would.

This does make them a little bit more expensive, but even if fish slime isn’t enough to spark your inner altruism, you’re still better off with a rubber net because it will make your life easier. This is because hooks are significantly less likely to get stuck in a rubber net than a fiber mesh one.

That same treble hooked lure that would find a way to jab each and every hook point into the fibers will rest its bend harmlessly against the rubber. This will save you time, energy, and frustration. It will also tend to mean you release the fish faster, reducing stress on them and increasing their chance of survival.

Forgot Your Net? No Problem.

While landing fish with a net is certainly easier than without one, that’s not always in the cards. I’ve written an entirely separate article on how to land fish without a net. You can find it here.

Keep Things in Perspective

Netting a fish can be a stressful situation for you, your fishing partner, and the animal, so it is important that you’re as prepared for the moment as you can be.

Hopefully these tips will help you have a better experience out there on the water, but you need to bear in mind that fishing is fun because it is hard. You will lose some fish while trying to net them. Don’t let this stress you out.

No matter how big that fish is, there’s always a bigger one just around the point, and if you got it close enough to the boat to net it, at least you got to see what it was.

You can’t control how someone else will react to your failing to net their fish, but you can control how you react when someone else lets you down. Don’t make a big deal out of it. They already feel bad about it and there’s nothing they can do to fix it at this point. No fish is worth ruining a trip or friendship over!

As always, if you found this article helpful, please consider sharing it so it can help others. You might also want to check out my book. If you are trying to get your kids into this sport, or know someone who is, it’s worth a read. Please consider purchasing it for yourself or a friend.

Thanks,

John Paxton

What Is A Good Age to Take A Kid Fishing?

I imagine if you’re reading this, you either can’t wait to take your firstborn fishing, or the you’re the parent who thinks your spouse is absolutely nuts. Trust me, they’re not crazy. You can start taking kids fishing at any age, though I would argue the best age is around two. It’s still a good idea to acclimate kids to fishing at an early age so they get used to it. In fact, I took both of my children fishing even when they were infants. Fishing is truly a sport for all ages.

Granted, if you’re taking your infant fishing you can’t exactly expect them to reel anything in, but they can absolutely participate in the fun and be part of the family outing.

I vote for taking your kids out fishing with you as soon as the doctor clears them for outdoor activities. Fishing is a great family activity and your kid doesn’t need to be able to cast to enjoy it. Even so, you should know a bit about what to expect at each age to make sure everything goes as well as it can.

Setting the Stage

Luckily for you, I’ve recently been through this with my son, and am now going through it with my daughter, so I thought I’d share how our experience went in the hope that it will help you. I’ll describe what I did at each age, what he was capable of doing at each age, and also give you some bullet point objectives that you should aim for.

Don’t despair if your child is getting a little later start than my boy, but do ensure that you complete all the objectives for the prior ages. You can condense this depending on their age (just to give you an idea, a 4-year-old might take 2-3 days to learn all the prior steps. A 6 or 7-year-old can probably learn them in an hour).

Before we get into my thoughts about taking kids fishing at various ages, I thought it would be good to set the stage with some basic ground rules and first steps. While it’s beyond the purview of this article to dive into these in detail, I will share links that will help you get there in no time.

Ensure You Have Some Basic Skills

I don’t care what age your child is – if you’re taking them fishing, it’s a good idea to have a few basic skills of your own. Otherwise, how can you hope to teach them to your kids? You will need to know how to spool line on a reel, tie your line to a lure, and cast at the very least. If you lack these skills, please read my article on the basic skills you need to take your kids fishing, and then come back to read this.

If you’re the type of person who prefers a hard copy, I recently published a book, Fishing with Kids: A Parent’s Guide. It discusses this topic in detail. If you are trying to get your kids into this sport, or know someone who is, it’s worth a read. Please consider purchasing it for yourself or a friend. You can also get a bit of cliff notes from my Illustrated Guide to Fishing with Kids.

Set Your Priorities Straight

You need to keep your priorities straight. You aren’t taking kids fishing so you can get the photo for the ages to share all over social media. Rather, you’re trying to bond with them and have a fun time outside, and away from a screen!!! Consider reading this article I wrote about how to make the trip more enjoyable for your children. You’ll note very little of it has to do with actually having a lure in the water.

My daughter holding a fish at a very young age. She is interested in being part of the experience even when she isn't casting.
Younger kids don’t need to catch the fish to want to be part of the experience.

Keep Things Safe and Stress Free

Regardless of their age, neither your kid nor you will have a good time fishing if you don’t take some basic steps to keep the situation stress free and safe.

I’ve written two articles that I think you should invest some time in. If you don’t, you’re going to struggle with taking your kids fishing for the first time.The first discusses how to keep the trip relatively stress free. The second discusses safety concerns at length. The second mentions some safety tips, including several you probably haven’t thought of. I’d consider reading them both.

Fishing With Infants to 1-Year-Olds

Now that we’ve got some of the basics out of the way and shared some resources, let’s dive into how to take your kids fishing at different ages. We’ll start with birth.

Infants and 1-year-olds can come along for fishing trips, but probably won’t do much catching on their own. Your major goal is acclimating them. To do so, you’ll need to accomplish three objectives:

  • Introduce your infant to fishing and acclimate them so they are comfortable;
  • Let them see you fishing often, so they’ll want to copy you;
  • Start introducing them to reeling in a lure.

Introducing Infants to Fishing

Obviously, an infant or even a one-year-old really isn’t going to “fish” when they come out with you, but it’s important that you get them used to the sights and sounds of fishing so your kids aren’t afraid of it and will want to keep fishing with you when reach an older age.

We immediately introduced our son and daughter to everything fishing-related that we could. We tried hard to totally and completely acclimate them to the sport so that being around fish would become second nature to them.

I think it’s fair to say we went all out with introducing fishing to my son. My wife did an awesome job painting his room to look like an aquarium, and kept on buying him all sorts of fishing shirts. I took him to Cabelas every chance I could, and kept bringing him down in the basement to see all of my fishing gear and look at crankbaits.

When you’re introducing an infant or a one-year-old to fishing, consistency is the key. It’s really no different than introducing them to a new caretaker, or the dog, or soft food. You want to make sure they have a chance to get used to this and so you need to expose them to it often enough that it becomes old hat.

The last thing you want is to have your spouse tell you that you need to sell your boat because your kid hates it.

Our son was surrounded by fish from birth.

Get Your Kids to Want to Copy You

Whenever I would take my son fishing at this age, I would do everything I could to excite him. Every time I would catch a fish, I’d bring it over for my son to see. While I have several photos that make it clear he didn’t start off that impressed, the sport grew on him quickly.

I've been taking my son fishing since he was a very young age. I've done everything I can to acclimate him to the sport. This is the first fish he ever saw.
These days, it’s all I can do to get my son off of the water, but he sure didn’t look impressed the first time he saw a bass!

Kids naturally want to do what their parents do, no matter how boring it might seem to adults. Just look at how many toy lawnmowers sell each year.

Fishing is actually fun, so it is very easy to get kids hooked on it. One thing that we did that really got our one-year-old interested in fishing was to buy him a toy rod and a little stuffed largemouth bass. This way, he got to “play” fisherman, and be “just like daddy,” right in the living room.

Teach Your Kids How To Reel

The first year or two of life is far too young of an age for kids to learn much about fishing, but they can at least start to reel. I went and purchased a very small spinning rod to replace his toy rod. I would cast it over in the corner and let him learn how to reel it in. It was a little awkward for him and the rod tip went everywhere as he wildly reeled it, but you could tell from his smile that he was having a blast.

Most kids have teddy bears. My son had a teddy fish.

A 1-year-old really isn’t capable of casting on their own, so it doesn’t matter much what kind of reel you use for this. All of them have a handle that needs to be turned, and it won’t make much difference, so you can use whatever you have.

You can buy special “casting plugs” for this purpose, but really any old crankbait will work. Just take the hooks off one that has a busted bill or hasn’t been producing for you and tie it on to the rod.

A little 3/8 oz, de-hooked crankbait is no more likely to break the television than the casting plugs out there, and it’s just as good, if not better, of a fish approximation to boot.

An old crankbait with the hooks removed is a good way to introduce kids to fishing and to teach them how to cast at a young age. Better to practice in your yard with dehooked lures than on the seas with the real thing.
A broken crankbait works great for a casting plug. Just remember to take the hooks off before you hand it to your kid.

You’re going to want to use a consistent message or cheer while you’re teaching them how to reel in, because you want them to remember it later when they have a real fish on the line. For us, it was “reel, reel, reel!” Repeat your coaching message/cheer each time they’re turning the handle.

As you can see, it’s a wonderful idea to start taking your kids fishing at this young age, but there’s a lot to it. So much so that if you’re still looking for information, I wrote a second post that specifically deals with this age group in more detail.

Fishing With Two-Year-Olds: The Best Age to Take Your Kid Fishing

In my opinion, the best age to start taking your kids fishing is when they are two. While I certainly took my own kids earlier, I have to concede that things really took off when they were old enough to reel in their own fish.

2-year-old children are capable of casting their own rods, hooking their own fish, and reeling them in, but only if they get a lot of practice.

If you’re introducing your 2-year-old child to fishing, you’re going to need to accomplish all the objectives they should have learned when they were 1, and also start working on the following:

  • Casting a lure in the general direction of water;
  • Waiting for a fish to bite;
  • Reeling in a fish;
  • Stopping reeling before the fish hits the tip of the rod (this is key).
Both of us are very proud here, but it’s also clear that I’m exhausted. It’s not easy teaching 2-year-olds to fish, but it’s well worth it.

Teaching a 2-Year-Old How to Cast

One of the main reasons I think that two is such a great age to take kids fishing for the first time is that they can finally cast, albeit inaccurately. While you shouldn’t expect a 2-year-old to do most of their own casting, it is a good idea to start teaching them how.

Most people think that they have to buy a spincast reel for a smaller child, but I started my son with spinning gear and he handled it just fine. I’m glad that I invested the time to teach him on this gear instead of taking the “easy” way out, because now I don’t need to teach him a different tool, or spend money twice.

As I mentioned at the start of the article, you need to know how to cast yourself before you can teach your kids (and again, you can read this to learn).

You simply want to teach them to do the same thing, but bear in mind that they have small hands and won’t be able to extend their trigger finger far enough to grab the line. Instead, they need to use their non-dominant hand to bring the line in close enough for them to grab it with their dominant one.

How A Young Child Casts a Spinning Reel

I’m going to break down how a child might teach themselves to hold the line of a spinning reel, but I want to emphasize that they really need to teach themselves this. If you try to explain the following technical steps to your kid, you’re just going to aggravate everyone.

This all assumes that you’ve been fishing in front of your kids for some time and they’re attempting to copy you. They’ll try doing what you’re doing without you even asking, but you can help them along by doing a few steps.

What YOU want to do is take the rod with a lure on it and show them what happens when you flip the bail without holding the line (the lure drops).

THEN, show them what happens if you flip the bail WHILE holding the line (the lure does NOT drop).

Get your kid to understand this “cause and effect” concept and then tell them to hold the line so the lure won’t drop. They will be able to figure this out with a little time and encouragement.

This is what you might expect it to eventually look like:

My son’s hand is too small for him to grab the line with just his pointer finger. Instead, he uses his entire hand. So long as he releases tension from the line at the correct moment, this works just fine.

It doesn’t matter how pretty this looks. All that matters is your kid holds onto the line with something while they’re flipping the bail open, and then releases the line when they go to cast.

If you think this isn’t worth the trouble and you’d prefer to use a push-button spincast reel, that’s fine, but just remember that spincast reels are to fishing what roller skates are to ice hockey players. You’re going to wind up buying equipment twice.

Teaching them Patience: Waiting for a Fish to Bite

I know I said that I thought the best age to take a kid fishing was when they were about two, but fishing does take some patience. You’re going to need to teach them that. While you’ll eventually get through it, I think every parent out there is thinking of two words: GOOD LUCK.

This one is going to take some time. As soon as the lure hits the water, kids just want to reel it in without giving fish much of a chance to notice the bait. I worked around this by fishing in areas that were stacked with panfish (so they’d bite within about 3-5 seconds) and constant coaching.

“Wait ’til you feel nibbles, buddy! Wait ’til you feel nibbles!”

I said that so much I nearly wore out my throat. It would have been a great time to own a parrot.

Call in the Cavalry

Depending on your kid, you might have an easier or harder time with this, but you would do yourself a great service if you joined some local fishing forums and asked the folks there for recommendations on good lakes and spots for large numbers of bluegill, sunfish, and yellow perch.

Most people that are on those forums are chasing larger species, but they’ve probably observed a few areas that consistently hold the smaller ones. You can expect that most will tell you those spots (perhaps in a private message) if you explain you’re taking a little one.

You really want to find a spot where you can keep the wait as short as possible for your child and then work up from there. Kids can resist reeling in for 3-5 seconds, and maybe even 10. Anything longer than that could be pushing it at this age.

Reeling in a Fish

OK, so your kid left the bait in the water long enough for a fish to bite, and now it’s on the line! It’s time for all that practice casting in your living room to finally pay off!

Whatever phrase you used to teach them to reel before, use it again. For us it was “reel, reel, reel!” Make sure they don’t forget to do this, because you want to keep constant pressure on the fish so it can’t spit out the hook.

If your kid hooks into a larger fish and it starts pulling drag you can try to tell them to stop (as a rule, you should not be reeling while a fish is pulling drag), but this might be a little tough for them to understand at this age.

You’ll also want to remind them to keep the rod tip high. Kids tend to drop the rod and point it straight at the fish. This is a bad habit because it puts all the pressure directly on the line rather than letting the bend of the rod absorb the fish’s pull. It probably won’t matter much for little fish, but the bigger ones will break them off.

Stop Reeling Before the Fish Hits the Rod Tip

This is pretty self-explanatory, but not something a angler would necessarily think of. You need to get your kids to stop reeling before the fish reaches the rod tip.

If your kids reel a fish in all the way to the rod tip, they could break the rod tip or knock the fish off of the hook and back into the water. Both become much more likely as the fish get larger.

Just make sure that you’re standing there next to them and remind them to stop before it is too late. Accidents will happen while they’re learning, but this is one that they’ll get a verbal (your coaching) and visual (the sight of the fish) cue, so they should learn this quickly.

A bonus to taking kids fishing at a young age is you can potty train them on the boat!
Make sure that your kids stop reeling before the fish reaches the rod tip.

Fishing With 3 to 4-Year-Olds

I would imagine that most sane people start taking their children fishing when they are about 3 years old. A child this age is capable of fishing on their own with significantly less direction and help from adults, but this is, of course, reliant on their having been exposed to fishing much earlier.

If they’re just starting fishing at 3 or 4, take things slow and make sure you go through the check list for fishing with infants and 2-year-olds before you hand them a rod and expect them to know what they’re doing, but you should also aim to achieve the following:

  • Increased casting distance and accuracy;
  • Understanding the reel’s drag system so they can fight bigger fish.

Depending on your child, they might react in a few different ways. They could be scared of the fish and really need to be acclimated by a trip to the local aquarium a few times, or they could take the “I’m a big boy/girl” attitude and want to start doing everything themselves immediately.

Practice Increasing Casting Distance and Accuracy

Fishing is like any other sport. If you want to improve, you need to practice. You don’t need to be on the water to practice many of the skills, either, which is handy if you don’t live near a lake.

Just as a hockey player might shoot pucks at a net in their basement, your little fisher can practice casting in their own back yard. They can use the same de-hooked plug that you used to throw in your living room and now cast it at targets in the yard.

The target can be just about anything, but I’d recommend just flattening out a few cardboard shipping boxes. Try to flatten a few in different sizes and lay them out at different distances around your yard. Then, take turns with your child to see who can get the lure the closest.

If you want to simulate reeds to teach your child how to cast into pockets between them, you could leave a few boxes unflattened and make little walls with them around the target. This would help your kids learn how to avoid getting snagged in bulrush or trees and would also add some three-dimensional fun to the game.

This fish was found between some bulrushes as seen in the background.

Teaching Your Child How to Fight Bigger Fish

One good thing about kids that are age three or four is that they can catch larger fish than most two-years-olds. Successfully fighting and landing larger fish takes skill and experience, which they might have by this age.

Three Mistakes Kids Often Make While Fighting Fish

There are three big mistakes that children (and beginners) often make that cost them fish.

  1. Reeling In While the Fish is Pulling Drag: You can’t simply keep reeling in the line while a fish is pulling it in the other direction or you will risk breaking it off. You need to teach your kids that if they hear a “zzziiiiip!” (the drag being pulled) that they need to stop reeling;
  2. Not Keeping a Bend in the Rod: As mentioned earlier, if your kid is pointing the tip directly at the fish, then all of the force of that fish is placed on the line directly, instead of the rod. This will snap the line in a hurry with a larger fish;
  3. Trying to Lift a Large Fish Out of the Water: This is a sure-fire way to lose a fish unless you have very strong line, which you probably don’t on a kid’s reel. Make sure they leave the fish in the water and don’t try to pull it up into the boat without a net, or it could snap off in front of their eyes.

The Bottom Line? It Happens.

Your kid will lose some larger fish while they’re learning this and will continue to lose larger fish throughout their lives. It’s just part of fishing. Even so, it would be understandable if they are upset. It is very important that you are there for them when this happens and talk about how exciting it was to see them fight such a big fish for so long.

Don’t allow yourself to be frustrated if this happens. Your child is trying their best and will feel bad that they lost the fish, if you make them think it is something to feel bad about. If you celebrate the fact that they got to fight a big fish for awhile, that’s what they’ll concentrate on and it won’t be a big deal.

ALWAYS look to the bright side in this situation.

Here is my son fighting a large fish. Your kids don't need to be very old to fight big fish if you start them at a young age.
Here, my son is fighting a 20″ catfish that he would eventually land. When a larger fish strikes on an ultra-light rod, it is very important that it is carefully played.

Of course, in order for your children to fight larger fish, they need to hook larger fish. While you’ll catch a few from time to time with worms, I’d suggest trolling for chain pickerel to help get them used to fighting larger game fish.

Fishing With 5 to 7-Year-Olds

By the time a child reaches the age of 5 to 7 years, they should be able to pick up casting very easily and should be able to handle many fishing techniques on their own. They’ll still probably need some help with tangles and maybe even getting the fish off the hook, but they’re on their way.

If you’re just starting to fish with your kid when they’re 7, you’d do well to spend an hour with them in the backyard before you head to the lake and just give them a briefing. Make it a big deal, like it’s this big important, exclusive meeting that they’re invited to. In other words, there’s a mission.

Assuming your kid has now spent several years catching panfish on nightcrawlers and is starting to get that out of their system, your objectives at this age are as follows:

  • Transition your child away from bait and towards artificial lures;
  • Start to move away from quantity in favor of quality;
  • Teach them about different lures and when to use them;
  • Show them how to learn more about fishing all on their own.

Transition Your Child to Artificial Lures

While it’s a great idea to start any new angler on live bait such as nightcrawlers, at some point you’ll want to transition them to artificial lures so that they can start expanding their skill set and targeting larger species. I’ll give you some quick tips below, but when you have a moment, consider reading my in-depth post on artificial lures as well as another one where I break down which ones you should use with kids.

Artificial lures will often catch larger fish than bait, but they rarely have as fast of action. Thus, before transitioning your kid to artificial lures, make sure your fishing buddy is of an appropriate age to finally have that patience thing tackled.

Most artificial lures lack the scent and wriggling action of live bait, so precise placement is necessary. Your child is going to need to know how to cast fairly well so they can place the lure exactly where they want to. Hopefully, you’ve been practicing with the cardboard boxes discussed above, but if not, now would be a great time to start.

Enter the Spinnerbait

Once your kid can cast reasonably far on their own, you can start handing them rods rigged with spinnerbaits instead of simple worms and start targeting larger, aggressive fish like chain pickerel. You’ll want to cover a lot of water in this technique, and to start in areas that are very likely to hold them. The same locations I discussed in my post about trolling for pickerel will also produce while casting.

Plastic Worms

If they can cast reasonably accurately, they can also start using plastic worms and trying to cast to pockets in the weeds that likely hold bass and other game fish. It’s important that they can cast accurately or else they’re going to spend all day picking weeds off their hook.

Advanced Tackle: Crankbaits and Other Treble-Hooked Lures

Depending on your comfort with their skill level and control, you might even consider letting them use crankbaits or other lures with treble hooks at this age, though you’d probably want to snip off the barbs in case anything goes wrong. Remember to make sure everyone is wearing sun glasses so no errant hooks catch an eye!

Start Fishing for Quality vs. Quantity

Around the same time that you start preaching artificial lures, you’ll need to set new expectations for your kids. Though they’ll occasionally have an awesome day for the ages, most of the time, they’ll catch fish less frequently with artificial lures than if they were using live bait, but the fish will frequently be larger.

It’s not that large fish don’t bite a nightcrawler if they get the chance. The issue is they rarely get the chance. Most of the time, smaller fish are going to pick live bait to pieces long before a large fish sinks its teeth into it.

That’s not an issue with artificial lures. Their sheer size tends to discourage small fish from biting, so any bite is going to be a fish of at least some proportion. Indeed, larger artificial lures tend to catch larger fish.

You have to remember, all animals instinctively run a cost-benefit analysis when targeting prey. Fish would much rather expend energy for a large meal that will net them an energy surplus than a snack that will barely keep them going.

Size isn’t the only quality you’re after. There’s also just the thrill of the strike. A few little taps on a nightcrawler isn’t anywhere near as interesting as a norther pike rocketing from the depths to SLAM a spinnerbait at full speed.

The jolt of excitement that such a strike produces is a feeling anglers will chase for the rest of their lives.

Teach Your Kids About Different Lures and When to Use Them

Believe it or not, there is a ton of strategy in fishing, and once your children are 5 to 7 years old, they can start to appreciate it. This makes this a really fun age to start fishing with your kids (it’s when Dad and my relationship really took off).

Take this opportunity to turn them into strategic and tactical thinkers. Discuss your approach the night before and consider what lures you should start the day with.

Will you throw topwaters before first light and then transition to spinnerbaits that gleam in the sun?

What will you do if the skies darken? Will you swap out to darker colors?

What time of year is it? Do you think you’ll find the fish on rocky points, spawning flats, or sunken humps?

All of these are great questions to ask your kid and test their understanding. It can be a real thrill hearing what they come up with.

Show Your Kids How to Teach Themselves About Fishing

Once your children know how to read, the entire world opens up before them, and this includes all the fishing knowledge of the universe. This blog is hardly the only place out there where you can read about fishing tips.

Take your kids to Google or even (gasp!) the library and show them how to research topics. Get them a magazine subscription to one of the major outdoor publications and watch their worlds expand. Challenge them to learn more and more each day. One great website is the fishing section at Boys’ Life. While my website is geared more towards parents, theirs is focused on helping kids learn to fish directly.

Before you tuck them in each night, go ahead and snuggle while you read a favorite fishing book. Even if they’re just storybooks about fishing, they’ll help engender a love for the sport within your kids at any age!

Before you know it, your kids will start teaching you a thing or two!

In Sum – Any Age is a Good Age to Take Your Kids Fishing!

Hopefully this article gave you some confidence about taking your kids out fishing. As you can see from my family’s own experience, a child is never too young to start learning to fish.

I certainly would recommend bringing them out with you as soon as you get the OK from your doctor. I hope this article helps you do that, but if you have any further questions feel free to comment below or send me an email at johnpaxton@fishingfather.com and I’ll do my best to help you.

As always, if you found this article helpful, please consider sharing it so it can help others.

Thanks,

John Paxton