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Dug
20-01-2006, 08:52 PM
How young do you start kids fishing?

I saw this one on the jetty at bribie island.

My only thought was hell if he catches something decent the stroller goes straight into the drink! :)

finga64
20-01-2006, 09:39 PM
I can remember fishing at around 4 or 5 with my pop and dad at Tewantin in an old clinker built boat witha Merc. :) happy days a long time ago.
My brother just had a daughter less then 6 months ago and she already has a rod and over X-mas she tried to eat a yabbie. We didn't tell mum that bit :-/
So the answer...don't know. Whenever they want I suppose. :)

Dug
20-01-2006, 09:59 PM
Don't get me wrong. I think it is great !

I cannot remember my first fishing trip.

bignick
21-01-2006, 07:24 AM
My young bloke is about 15 months old, and, when the weather sorts itself out a bit, he'll be having his first boat ride, probably over to Peel Island for a little swim in Horseshoe Bay. When I've been flushing the motor on the driveway at home, I've already had him out and up in the boat with me to get used to all the shakes and rattles and vibrations and general chaotic noise created by an outboard. I doesn't seem to worry him one bit; in fact, his favourite part is getting down behind the motor (in my arms) while it's running and putting his hand under the tell-tale and feeling the water squirt out; he laughs like hell. I'm always taking him out into my shed when I'm on babysitting duties and he loves to touch the boat and the motor. If I'm doing something up in the boat, I'll take him up with me and let him have a crawl around. He loves it, just have to make sure he keeps his little hands out of mischief. As for taking him fishing, I envisage him coming chasing Snapper at Mud Island or a similar spot by the time he is 4 or 5 years old. I would prefer to get a bigger boat, preferably one with a cabin, because little kids always run out of puff and need a place to have a lie down or just get out of the cold for a little while. But, he already has a little fishing rod and he'll probably get another on in the not too distant future. It's all looking good so far.

Cheers,
NICK.

Navi
21-01-2006, 08:09 AM
I have 2 boys the first started fishing at the age of 3 cause he was more steady on his feet and I brought him a good 6 ft rod and god egg beater reel, he always catches the first fish and we have never been out where he never caught any thing. my 2nd lad is only two he hasn't had a fish yet but I'm looking forward to it. both the boys started boating about 1 1/2 y.o.

cheers Chris 8-)

Scalem
21-01-2006, 08:16 AM
Bignick,

What you have described is fantastic stuff, and that is a good start to getting the young bloke started with fishing. I would not take a young Kid out to Mud straight away, I try and get a Kid catching fish of any description first. My mistake was to do a Morton Bay trip, on a windy day, and my daughter cried her eyes out because the chop and banging through the hull frightened her. Maybe your bloke will be different, but I bred a couple of "City Kids." ;DThe options I think of are:

1. Take them onto a pier or jetty with a bait jig, such as what I did over the Christams break at Urangan. The Kids had a ball catching live bait, and they could not get enough of catching them!
2. If you arm them with a packet of ordinary Saltwater prawns, take them to Wivenhoe Dam and fish off the land - the Catfish are in plague proportions, and really put up a fight on light tackle. You will hear shreiks of laughter as they pull them in, but watch the spines!
3rd option would be to Burley up some Gar fish on bobby floats and bread in Estuaries - very visual and the Gar fight like Marlin, often jumping out of the water.

But most importantly, don't force them to go anywhere they don't want to. Force a kid to come out in the boat or to endure long periods of no fish in the blazing sun will turn them off for ever!

Good luck!

If I could take this opportunity to show you the result of a fantastic day out with my two slightly older daughters.......

Scalem

Bream_Reaper01
21-01-2006, 09:55 AM
Don't remember when we first put a rod into my youngest daughters hand,but she caught her first bream,2 bream actually,when she was 3 years 2 months old.I helped boat them of course.

longtail
21-01-2006, 01:25 PM
here's my 6 year old with 2 dart i got last w/end

longtail
21-01-2006, 01:28 PM
and her 3 year old brother with a squire caught just before xmas .

they both love fishing and boating , just try to go fishing without them ;D ::)

jason

The_Walrus
21-01-2006, 02:32 PM
I started both my boys around 5/6.

Mosly land based where catching fish was easy eg spangled perch, garfish, jetty tiddlers.

Now both grown up & left home but still come out with me 3 or 4 times a year for a day or overnighter.

Overnighters are great with camping trown in and a few hours around the campsite. :D

Luc

jefro
22-01-2006, 12:12 PM
ASAP :)

Heath
22-01-2006, 12:37 PM
My kids have been fishing since the word go. The last 2 years they have been offshore. My daughter only likes to come when we do a bait gathering excercise due to the hit a drop sort of scenario & doesn't like to touch them as they are smelly ;D

My boy however loves it. Can not get out of the house usually without him, no matter what. Even just to go over the oldmans to pack the boat, he's there. At 4.5yo he's up to his 2nd summer on the water. He demands to be called Baitcatcher, however after his most recent trip, has upgraded his name to Fishboy! So he tells us.

Got some video footage of him at it. CLICK HERE (www.gcfishing.com/images/videos/mitchf.wmv)

muzz30
22-01-2006, 01:13 PM
I got my girls started a few week ends ago because they started to show interest

Mogwai
22-01-2006, 02:19 PM
Heath
that is some great footage looks like he is loving it Hes doing a lot better them me i had my boat just over 3 mths and still have not a fish yet :(

Mogwai

onerabbit
22-01-2006, 04:20 PM
They're never to young, as long as they can hold a rod, with some assistance perhaps, & wind in, never forget my oldest boys 1st fish, a whiting, he was nearly 3 & the pride in his face was priceless, have a photo but to hard to find on a sunday arvo, he's 14 now & thinks of nothing but fishing, i think its a great way to grow up!!!! Muzz

al_neibling
22-01-2006, 09:06 PM
Dug,

My youngest went on her first boat when she was 3 months old, she spent a week on the broadwater in a house boat and did a brief couple of hours fishing in the pin, her next big trip we put a rod in her hand and this was the result she was 2.

if thay can hold a rod give them one (even if it only has a sinker attached) just my opinon.


Al

sf17fisherman
22-01-2006, 10:27 PM
like many other on here i had my pride and joy holding fishing rods before he was walking and has been out on the boats also from about 8 mouths old
me and him play in the tinny in the garage ever since he came home so now he is in love with fishing and boating and best of all non of the noise scare him and does't mind holding and touching the fish or the bait (however some times those bream can catch you off gaurd when they kick)

he knows where thing in the boats go and also so how to start and stop them and even helps poor old dad with the driveing when it is ok to do so

Today was one of them rare proud moment a dad can have after him catching fish with the help of mum and dad for a coupld of years now he fainaly caught a fish ALL by hime self
casted the line out on his own 3'6 shakesheare uglystick and matching reel
waited and wound in when gettting bites on the #2 running sinker size 4 longshank and sandworm combo
struck and wound in under constain pressure
and landed a silghty under size (24cm) sand whitting
ALL BY HIMSELF :D :D :D
made this daddy one very proud one

only regret about starting him this young is that like me he may not remember his first fish or the time he first went fishing but like me he has fishing in his blood and i know his life will be great aslong as he is fishing or playing on our great waterways :D
p.s. one day this old dad may post the pics he has of the pride and joy holding a fishing rod while in a walker or holding onto one of the game rods in a harness and gimble belt and sure as hell one of the ones of his very first fish he caught all by him self

Grand_Marlin
22-01-2006, 10:42 PM
My kids have been around the boats and fishing since they were born... actually I dont think they had any choice!

My son who is now 8, loved the boat even as a baby. We had an 18ft Sharkcat Sportsman, and we used to sit his baby capsule between the bunks when he was just 3 months old. The only time he used to cry was when you stopped the boat - he loved the motion and the sound.
He was fishing the banks with us at age 4 (his job was to distribute the bait and no one else was allowed to touch it)
has now started into game fishing and is keen to catch a marlin. so far he has caught a 6kg cobia.
I had a 4-6kg game rod made for him. it is short with an extra short butt and a levelwind reel. - he is hooked for life.

Our baby daughter has just turned 9 months old and she loves the boat too. She crawls around the carpeted floor and looks at everything. She especially loves watching the fish kicking when we catch them and loves to touch the fish too, but only when dad holds them!
She also loves playing with the stainless ring on the u/f esky hatch!

I think, as stated above, dont scare them. - rivers first then work up to bay / sea.
When it gets a bit choppy, reassure them and try to make the bouncing around fun. My son liked to sit on my drivers seat, with his lifejaket on and hold on to me while I drove. That way he wasnt getting tossed around the boat.
They also love the live bait tank, or even an esky filled with water to watch the fish swim around.. especially the little ones. We would let each fish swim around for 5 minutes, then put it back. This really kept their interest going as they always looked forward to seeing what the next fish would be.

I dont think there is a better feeling than teaching your kids how to fish.

cheers
Pete

GARFISH
26-01-2006, 07:06 PM
Mine are now two and four, The youngest megan got her first rod for her 2nd birthday like her sbrother did. Ryan can now fish pretty much by hisself except for baiting but that is more me not letting him play with the hooks. We used to practice casting in the backyard before we moved with just a sinker on his line. I get in trouble if I try to go without him

2DKnBJ
26-01-2006, 07:19 PM
Had my young fella out in the boat when he was 6 months old now we do avernighters to Mud with him and he loves it .as soon as he knows how to use a rod i will let him loose. Only 18 months old now but it won't be long.
Cheers dazza