Fishing with your kids is easy!

From the folks at Cape Cod Outdoors. The best, area specific, outdoor site.

Taking your kids fishing ought to be fun. And indeed it is if you take a little care about the planning. Fishing is, after all, not rocket science and that means that all of us can do it and have a good time in the bargain. Here are just a few simple rules to keep in mind and a surefire plan for a successful fishin' trip.
The first rule of making fishing fun for the kids is to be sure to catch fish. This involves nothing more difficult than using simple tackle that a child can handle in a place loaded with hungry fish.
Fishing for sunfish should immediately come to mind. Here's a recipe for success..
You will need the following ingredients:
One bamboo pole (in sections) per child.
One spool 12 pound test braided dacron line.
One package mixed freshwater hooks.
One package (about three) spring end pencil bobbers.
One cup of worms (about two dozen).
A pail.

The best ingredients are always purchased fresh and your local sporting goods store always has the freshest around. While there, tell the expert behind the counter what you are up to and ask about places close by where the sunfish are just itching to be caught. They should know more than a couple and since you are taking the kids, they might even give you a really special "hidden" place that is known only to them and has exceptional fishing.
The cost of the above materials is under $20 (the pole being half the cost) or the cost of a movie and a pizza. This tackle will last for a whole season of use or for years if you don't step on the pole.
Rule number two. Keep it simple. Hence, the bamboo pole and line; no casting required - no line tangles to frustrate.
Assemble the ingredients in the following fashion. Put together as much of the pole as your child can handle but no more. If your children are only four or five years old, then perhaps only the four foot tip section will be suitable. A ten year old, on the other hand, may be able to control the 12' length of the three sections together. Versatility is the advantage of using sectioned bamboo poles. Take the other sections with you in the trunk when you go fishing just in case you need to add a length while "casting" for your child.
Now, take the braided dacron line and tie the end securely near the fatter end of the tip section. A series of granny knots or square knots will do if you wind the line around the pole a few times first. Then spiral the line up to the tip of the pole and add a half dozen half hitches here. When this is done, if the tip breaks off, you will still be able to pull in the line with the rest of the pole.
Taking the spool of line in hand, spiral the line back down around the pole all the way to the butt and add six inches for good measure. Then cut it. To the end of the line, tie a number 8 Carlisle hook on which you've flattened the barb with pliers. (The little picture on the hook can should show you which one this is. No picture? Just pick a long skinny one smaller than your kid's pinky.) You can tie it on with half hitches or double the line and tie a half hitch in it to form a loop. Then put the loop through the hook eye and over the end of the hook. Pull the line and the loop will ride up the shank and stop at the eye. Voila'
Next, unspiral the line from the pole while holding the hook by the bend. Then after adding a heavy rubber band or a couple of wraps of duct type tape to the butt, catch the hook under this. Now, take up a bobber and push back the little spring at the bottom. Wind the line through the slot twice, about three feet up from the hook and let go. The spring will return and catch the line.
Holding the pole by the butt, practice swinging it in such a way as to wrap the line around the pole, using the bobber as a pendulum. Your kids will want to do this trick at the water so practice for yourself now. If you are using three sections of pole, you can disassemble one length and hold them together while you wrap (you may have to do this by hand).
Now, you're ready to head for the water! Grab your pole(s), bait and pail and tell your child you're going for an adventure. (Put the rest of your tackle in a sack in the trunk, just in case you need spares.)
Rule three, have a backup plan. Even the best fishing spot can go dry. Bring a net to scoop up water things or a squirt gun, just in case. Leave the dog at home.,
When you get to the water, choose a place along the shore without overhanging tree branches or visible offshore woody snags. Lily pads are okay and may even be the best place to fish. Your line will hold up under a big load of cabbage, just be careful not to break the pole.
When you've chosen your spot, unwrap and assemble your pole, leaving the hook caught under the butt, unspiral the line with a circular motion of the pole.
Take up your cup o' worms. Chose a lively one and push the hook point through the middle of a worm three times and stop. Leave the worm ends hanging and wiggling around (this is pure chow bell to a bluegill or perch). Push the worm down towards the hook point but not off and grasp the hook by the bend.
It is your responsibility to swing out the hook and bobber the first time. After that your little fisher will want to do it all. But for the first time you should model control. To do this, just point the pole tip out over the water and let the hook go. The line will swing out and when it is at full extension all you do is lower the pole tip until the line and bobber fall into the water. Presto! Your fishing!
Hand the pole to your son or daughter, sit back and watch the wonder and mystery of fishing capture your child.
The overturned pail is to sit on until you catch the first fish and then it serves its real purpose of portable aquarium. That first fish is an important achievement (and a bird in the hand). Fill the bucket with water and after you've removed the fish from the hook, drop it in so your child can watch it. Even if you never catch another fish, you have the one and it will be enough for the whole day if you keep it for awhile.
Watching the fish together will give you an opportunity to talk about conservation and responsibility with your child. In the end, he or she will suggest releasing it and then there will be no feelings of loss only good feelings for setting it free.
The rest of fishing is learning by repetition how to handle fish without getting stuck by spines or cut by gill covers; how to bait hooks and the swinging out and pulling in of lines. This is all fun stuff for a kid and for the kid in all of us.
Rule four, a little preparation by the adult can make fishing seem easy and purely fun for the child. In this vein, a few more accessories for a successful trip come to mind but these are by no way necessities.
A pair of needlenose pliers can come in handy for flattening barbs and removing hooks from wiggly fish. So does a cloth for cleaning your hands between baitings and fish releases. A book on fish or the local aquatic life is also handy to identify what you've caught and what you see swimming and floating by. Soft drinks can ease the heat of day for your child and a camera will help you remember in the years to come.
Rule five, when your child is ready to call it a day, its time to leave. This may happen after only a half hour or so and be disappointing to you but remember its their day and you want to make it as relaxed as possible.
In the end, there are few things in life so rewarding as fishing. It offers the mystery of Christmas morning with unknown presents just out of sight beneath the tree or under the water's surface. It teaches patience, care with tools and pointy things and a gentleness towards life. It is an experience you can truly share with your child and a gift that they may value for the rest of their lives.
It's not hard to fish, nor is it expensive. If it's new to you and your little one then you can easily learn together and from each other. Fishing is always an adventure and often one found close to home. Good luck and good fishin'!

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