Advice Needed on taking Youngsters Fishing

[hubris 1]

- i know "adults who lay out from sickness from a slight chop!
and on a side note.....i got called Hubris this weekend!!!!!!!!!!!!!!do you believe it

i cant laugh any harder........hope you handled it ok, remember, its they that are backing up when the pullover says HUBRIS! LOL!

[sjogren]

Bait in the live well goes a long way. That keeps 'em busy for a while.
Electronics can keep 'em busy especially color sounders, I've had to peel them off the sounder.
With kids the small things go a long way.
Performance anxiety, really wanting to get on the fish, don't worry about it!!

[rarhomes]

At one time in my life I fished for a living, I have raised 3 daughters, and I can can honestly say that I have never seen a child that did not like
to catch a fish. Now some don't like cleaning the boat and baiting the hook, but catching a fish is like digging out the prize in a Cracker Jacks
box -they all love it. And it doesn't even have to be a big fish, just something to keep them occupied. Its up to you to figure out what this child
likes and do that.

When my girls where little I would take them with me to catch bait for the next days charter. Heck catching pinfish for them was like catching
a 200# tarpon for me. Let the child be your guide, pay attention to what they like and make it fun for them. Make them feel important, and
make them feel that there catch was like a Grander Marlin. Its a win win deal. To this day I would rather fish with either one of my daughter
than anyone else on earth.

[Shortfin]

I agree with finding them fish asap due to the attention span

here is another thought

get some of those snoopy rods for the boy's and Barbi rods for the girls

http://www.fieldandstream.com/articl...ategoryID=2526

There Riptide tested

[Moe Fishintime]

The minnows in the livewell works great ; and a can of nightcrawlers is a guarateed fish catcher too!!! Also don't try to drag them along or talk them into going . Wait for them to ask to go .That way you will know they want to.
My grandkids love it !!!!!

[reel fishy]

I love taking kids fishing. They are sometimes so fascinated with the water, animals and sea life it's hard to get them to concentrate. I like to break up the day with a visit to the closest flat or beach and allow them to swim and run around just to keep them going. Miami is blessed with just as good of an inshore fishery as offshore. Stay away from the deep water stuff at first until you break them in on something else. Kids sometimes don't know what a bite feels like so they have difficulty hooking a fish when it bites. Even we as adults can get pretty bored if we don't get bites and that will transfer to the child's attitude. Pick some species where you can use a bobber to give them a visual aid. Every bank down there in Biscayne Bay has a decent school of small snapper and other fish that respond well to chum. It's shallow enough to use bobbers and the fish will congregate within sight of the boat. You will also get the cool fish like barracuda and sharks in your slick and most kids will get a kick out of that. I know I have taken a few newbies to the outflow canal south of Black Point and caught fish one after another. Places close to shore also give that extra bonus of seeing seabirds and other land life. After you take them out a few times and show what it's like to catch a bunch of fish, you give them the choice to either do that again or go outside for a different experience. Give them the choice, include them in every aspect and make sure to keep it fun, happy no matter what happens.

[gman]

My son at 12 is an absolute offshore nut, all he cares about is big fish ... sharks, tuna, marlin. He started going offshore with me at 7. He started on the docks catching short flukes and snapper blues, anything he could catch. Now at 12 he is a tournament angler with 2 wins under his belt but he started small and simple

The important thing is to get them tight, taking out a sabiki rig and letting him or her going crazy catching bait is a great way to start the day. Short and sweet is my suggestion

I would also suggest making them feel like they were apart of the trip, my son Anthony loved cutting chunks, watching the fishfinder, counting birds etc

Just get em on the water

[hotshot1]

With my 8 and 9 year old, you have to catch fish, size does not matter. They would rather stay at the dock and catch snappers spike weakfish eels crabs then go out and not have the amount of action they get at the dock. I will usually troll for bluefish or fish up shallow for throw back fluke sea robbins skates or chum for dogfish. I will set up a movie get the chum line going after about 30 minutes its drop and crank.

[Squidnation]

Kids today love electronic gadgets and computers. IPOD, Internet, WEII, whatever you have to plug in and pay more then $200, they want. Sooooooo - Teach them how to use your electronics. Shoot, Nico knows more about my GPS then I do now. Especially if you have some long range chips. They will start telling how far it is to Cape Hatteras or CHub. They will be fascinated by the bottom machine.

Next - bring a dip net and find a weed line. Lots of cool stuff stuck in the weeds, they will love. But please leave the endangered seaturtles alone

Put out a chum bag and take an old coffee can or five gallon bucket and wrap saranwrap around one side and cut the bottom out of the other. Stick it in the water with the sarnwrap in the water and you have in instant underwater viewfinder.

Buy a little portable gas grill and cook burgers and hotdogs in your rodholder.

Just sayin

[Kahi]

I think the things that seems to make the most sense is the electronics. He kept asking about my GPS, and I think I could have the GPS to occupy him. Another thing, I should have brought my marine wildlife book. Maybe could have spent sometime discussing some of the potential fish. But as was said a few times, it all depends on the kid.

Thanks guys.

Kahi