Fishing with kids

[mamab]

I have two boys, so they love fishing with their daddy. Any hints on how to help everyone have a good time? Seems they get bored easily. How do you combat that?

[FourBear]

How about a mini-fishing contest with small prizes? My parents used to do that when we all went fishing, and it worked out great. A little competition always makes things exciting. :)

[mamab]

Thanks! That's a great idea! Now all we have to do is wait until it's warm enough to get out to the lake and put it into practice. :)

[eldragon]

Just take them for a few hours. When they get older, they will be the ones who don't want to quit.

[miavassallo]

My boyfriend has a daughter that use to fish with him when she was younger. That was before he and I were together, and now she is 13 and thinks that fishing with her father is lame. Depending upon the age of your boys... they may want to do something else. They might really really like it though. I think it depends on the kids. :)

[mamab]

My boys are 9 and 6 (just turned 6 yesterday). I think their worse problem is probably not being able to be quiet and losing interest because fishing is a lot of waiting for the fish to bite.

[chipinoh]

Keep the sessions short & fish for panfish - kids need action to stay interested. DON'T take them out for 10 hours of muskie hunting!

[WiccanSpirit]

Hello everyone. I also have 2 sons and one daughter. My advice is leave them on the shore!! lol kidding. The idea of the little contest is a good one. I know when i fish with my kids i bring snacks and tell them that whoever is the most quiet get's a prize when we are done. That usually works!

[chipinoh]

I know when i fish with my kids i bring snacks and tell them that whoever is the most quiet get's a prize when we are done. That usually works!

Heck, I do that every day - it's the only way to get any peace around here! :p

[chipinoh]

Oh, I do do try to avoid using food as a reward, though. "They" say that can lead to an unhealthy relationship with food.

[mamab]

Who are "THEY," I wonder. I've always wanted to know, and no one can give me an answer!

I do have to admit, though, using food as a reward probably isn't a good idea. I don't know about developing an "unhealthy relationship" with it, but who knows.

[MrStitch]

It's a tough go, thats for sure.

I pretty much just let the kids decide when it's time to go. Sadly, it usually only lasts an hour or two. Would probably last longer, but the shore-fishing in these parts are not so good.

There's plenty of shore, just not a lot of fish. :(

Someday tho, maybe I'll get a boat. That would give us many more options.

[bwhite]

It's hard to keep young kids interested as it IS a little boring at times (come on, you guys have to admit it! LOL). My youngest used to bring some books, coloring books and crayons or something else that could keep her occupied if she got bored. She was 8 and had a hard time setting the hook so that frustrated her too!
Stay shore-bound and bring something the kids enjoy to do. This could increase your fishing time by 30 minutes to an hour or so.

Thanks goodness my kids have decided who likes to fish now! LOL

[cassiem0221]

When we go, the two oldest get bored very easily. I have started bringing toys along with us to pass the time for them. My daughter will bring a coloring book and some cars and my son brings his cars and trucks to play while we enjoy the fishing...Goes really well.