"Kids" what age is ok for boating

[-spiro-]

What im after is- What age have you taken the kids in open water boat fishing?
Also what age do they stop getting board in the boat?
Hopefully this might help my 6 year old son out, he's dead keen but the other half isnt.

[agnes_jack]

G'day Spiro
Mate, I had my son fishing in enclosed waters in the tinnie from the ripe old age of 3 1/2.
I virtually started him on the boat as soon as he was old enough to fit into a lifejacket. Safety is of course the first consideration. They only need to catch a small #fish or two to stop the boredom, but be prepared to take them back to shore if need be. Start them early and they will want to come out with you all the time, a great way to stay mates with your kids!

# # # # # # # # # Regards, Tony
PS By the time he was 6 he had already caught most estuary species, and many offshore species including trout, mackeral, etc etc.

[Commodore]

Hi Spiro,
I have a 3 year old girl, when I was fitting out my old rig she would always be in the boat with me. This got her familiar with the boat and I also used to run the motor so she would not get upset with the noise. After a few goes at this she would happily sit in the boat at rest near the shore, then we did a couple of short trips in sight of Mum with no problems. As she felt more comfortable with her life jacket and the boat we now sap along at full tilt, if I’m no going fast enough she will let me know. We often break the trip up by landing some where the kids can get out and explore; She loves it and is awaiting my new rig as much as I am.
I do restrict our travels to creeks and rivers as she is not quite ready for the bay (open waters), I think I was about 6 when my Dad first took me out on the bay, and we also used to do overnighters…sleeping in the front of a centre consol on anchor rope used to be so much fun…..oh to be a kid again..
Cheers,
Matt

[Heath]

Its all about them not getting bored. get them catching bait fish etc & then move up to other species.

Like Tony said, most 6 yo that I know who go fishing with their oldman off shore have already knocked over mackerel, jew, trag, snapper etc.

My 3 1/2 yo young bloke will make a few trips out to the mackerel grounds this summer, but only on the good days though. Close to home & he's bound to be kept busy catching yakkas through the morning.

[Heath]

Its all about them not getting bored. get them catching bait fish etc & then move up to other species.

Like Tony said, most 6 yo that I know who go fishing with their oldman off shore have already knocked over mackerel, jew, trag, snapper etc.

My 3 1/2 yo young bloke will make a few trips out to the mackerel grounds this summer, but only on the good days though. Close to home & he's bound to be kept busy catching yakkas through the morning.

[beefaman]

Take a crab dilly and let them throw it out and pull it up all day

[PinHead]

Any age..kids who throw up save on berley...they will always take you home earlier than you wanted...they will always eat most of the tucker...they will get in the way just as you are bringing a fish in..ahhhhhhhhhhhhh...but ya gotta love it.

[bidkev]

Got mine started at 5.....would've been earlier if I'd've had a boat then. As others have said, boredom is the killer as small kids have short attention spans. Take a colouring book or gameboy just in case. Weave stories for 'em when you see a dolphin, eagle or similar, they just love it. Involvement is what it's all about, they feel special if they're doing the same as dad or get given little "grown up" jobs to do. One of my boys is autistic and he stops fishing long before the others as he tires of holding the rod but he has a "priest" that I bought him for Xmas......he's written on it, "Jake's dong 'em deader" :-) He's also the bait "cutter upper". I take all 5 of 'em when I go out and it seems to be the only time they ain't getting up each other :-)

cheers

kev

[dazza]

hi spiro,
guess it depends on what exposure the kids have had to boating. luckily my daughter (18 monts) has been in and out of boats since she was about 10 months old. Now she happily goes about exploring every corner of the boat and has a fair idea about what is going on ie: sit down, hang on when we are underway . Need to make sure there are no dangerous objects around. Saftey is the big issue, a well fitting lifejacket is the first thing.
introduce boating slowly, let them gain confidence and enjoy a very rewarding experience
cheers
dazza

[Jewmaster]

Crush the barbs on your hooks.... makes life easier if things go wrong.

[moondancer]

I've been taking my boys out since they were in nappies - started in skinny water first up, with shorter trips, and always got them to take out a bag of favorite toys for when boredom set in. Also, brought yummy food!
My ideas around what makes it work is - pick your water, weather and places. Don't expect them to stick at it as long as you, and if you can make it fun - youre more than half way there. Kids need constant stimulation - so little tasks like bait gathering, hooking into small yakkas etc., helping dad with the yabby pumping (whatch the nippers!!) even cutting up the bait and throwing it overboard as berley all helps get them into the swing of it.

By the time my eldest was around 8 he forgot about his bag of toys and just wanted to go fishing - he was hooked!

Hope you have similar wonderful pleasures with your kids.

Oh - one bit of advice - if they start making noises about wanting to go home, feeling sick, bored, etc. - DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT or it'll put them off - at an early age, it needs to always be a pleasant experience with no hassle.

I also always had them in the boat with me when I was doing work on it in the garage. Kids, boats and dad - what a combo!! That's what I'm valuing most these days - my boys are 12 and 14, and this is one thing we can hopefully always share good times with!

Have a ball!!

Lawry

[basserman]

i'm like dazza my young fella has been going out in my southwind since he was just 6 mounths but that was just skiing and river fishing but only just a few weeks ago he did his first deep sea fishing trip all be it only about 6kms off the coast and that was for his 18 mounths
biggest thing is to get them to learn to swim buy them the best lifejacket and to get them out and starting to enjoy boating\fishing
even though you may like to take them fishing the kids will proble like the rideing around in the boat better

[snappa]

bugga

dont take the billy lids, just give -em money and teach -em to buy fush & chips over the counter

[Sportfish_5]

Looks like these GIFs are all the rage now - nice one Pete

Cheers

Greg

[snappa]

where did you get yours ??? ???