I know Teach Your Kids to Fish this sounds weird, but fishing is by far something that kids would love to learn even if they don’t like the idea at first.
Now sure, most people think of fishing as a boring activity, but in reality, the boring part is the fun part. Fishing is a great activity since it teaches kids a lot of valuables, like patience and learning to relax and enjoy the world a bit more, sounds really deep for a kid doesn’t it?
I know it does, but that’s where you come in, talk to him about the world around him, what it used to be like, stories about youth, misadventures and interesting trivia.
Fishing when you’re with your kids shouldn’t have the goal of catching a lot of fish, it should have the goal of connection and to make your bond stronger, talk to him about your gear, the different types of lures and which fish they attract, the types of line you can use, the fishing pole itself, and then tell him about fishing worldwide, about the huge fishing boats that angle thousands of pounds of fish a day and how that fish moves throughout the entire world, it’s fascinating stuff for a kid, you’ll make him feel small, but it will give him confidence, with a world so big, he can dream as high as he wants.
You could in theory do things other than fishing, like playing checkers, watch a movie together, or even a picnic, but none of those offer something that fishing has in spades, a reward for being there, now sure, picnic is its own reward, but after spending a few hours talking and catching fish, it’s an incredible feeling cooking that fish for dinner and be able to say that you caught it and your kid helped, maybe not physically but he was there for morale!
Fishing also has an interesting thing about it, the more people who fish with you the better because someone is bound to talk about something and create a good ambiance for the group. It’s also extremely enjoyable seeing the first fish jump out of the water and you feel the thrill of the hunt, of course, that with the excitement that comes with catching your first fish, your kid might want to catch another one, and why not right?
The swapping and replacement of items on your line in order to get ready and catch another meal, this is also a great way to keep you focused on the task and improve your awareness when fishing in general. Kids love to learn new things, especially when they’re foreign concepts, like fish, they might like eating it, but they don’t know how they work, fishing is a wonderful way to teach kids about aquatic life in general, talk about what kind of fish you can catch in what locations and why, talk about how fish is used for food, talk about your favorite fish dish and your kids curiosity will be through the roof.
Earlier I mentioned a picnic, why not both? Picnic and go fishing at the same time, you can even do it when you’re traveling, in Portugal? Go to Madeira, they have the best fishing spots, in Australia? Victoria is where you want to go. Fishing is something that is enjoyed worldwide, so even if you’re out of town, you can search nearby places.
You could also visit fluvial beaches that allow fishing.
Also if you fish regularly consider investing in a Castable Fish Finder, because imagine that you’re at one of your favorite bodies of water to fish and after trying all kinds of baits and lures you can’t get anyone to bite. This fixes that problem because now you can “see” underwater and check if the fish are indeed there, the wireless version is becoming increasingly more accessible and popular with anglers worldwide, also go prepared, prior to any fishing event you might have planned double check if you have tackle, most notably weights, hooks, and floats.
Weights help you cover more distance and keeps bait underwater to attract more fish, if you’re new I recommend basic split shot weights, they’re cheap and easy to use. For hooks make sure they aren’t snelled, snelled hooks have a leader installed that you can then use to attach a swivel snap, if you didn’t get any of that, it’s ok, good hook brands are Gamakatsu, Eagle Claw or Daiichi, so get yourself one of those and you’re set! As for floats, there are no fishermen out there that haven’t tried a float before, it’s also commonly known as a bobber or a strike indicator since when it goes down, that’s when you pull, floats help you maintain your bait at water level and now let it sink to the bottom, and they are also very visually appealing to fish, they also stick out in the middle of the water, whenever one gets pulled, you’ll know immediately.
While this all sounds great please make sure you have a fishing license always before fishing anywhere, or research about where you can fish without a permit, also be wary of certain kinds of fish that shouldn’t be caught, don’t sell or keep them, put them back in the water safely.
Be aware of fish hooks as well, they’re quite sharp and sometimes can be set loose from the fish and come flying straight at you.
Please be wary of illegal fishing, illegal fishing causes great damage to our environment, especially when you catch non-target species, like a shark. When you practice illegal fishing, you’re also indirectly impacting legitimate fishers as well as the fish population themselves, if you also don’t report your catch, you’ll make fisheries assume they have the wrong fish population count correct and set a higher limit than what it should be, making it very possible to consume all the fish in that specific body of water.
Even if you don’t practice illegal fishing you should still care because it still affects the health of the fish, the fish are effects then that will lead to the ecosystem collapsing, with birds, bears, and other big fish all losing potential meals.