Wednesday, January 21, 2009
How to teach children to fly fish?
This one has been in the back of my mind for about 9 months. My wife and I recently were blessed wih a new baby boy, our first! I know I have some time but I have been wondering what the best way to teach a kid to fly fish and at what age. Anyone have any thoughts or ideas?
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4 comments:
I think it is important to engage your son in fishing in general as soon as possible. Keep it simple, get him catching blue gill and sunnies with worms. Get him to enjoy being out and around water. Fly fishing will come later. There is a particular amount of coordination needed to safely and positively engage in fly fishing. This may be 12, this could be 15 it will depend on your son. Get him out there, get him having fun, and dad you will have to work on your speed baiting skills and finding easy fishing situations.
many years back I attended a trout unlimited banquet with lee and joan wulff, they demonstrated casting with a 2 foot or so piece of dowel rod with a 5 - 6 foot piece of brightly colored yarn attached for line. I think this is a good way to introduce children to the mechanics of fly rod casting. i have a 4 year old i will try to attmpt this with after she sees me casting
Good topic. My son started fly fishing the Green Drake hatch on Kettle Creek when he was 5. He is now 12 and is a very mature fly-fisherman for his age. He has even gone to try out foe the USA Youth Fly-Fishing Team. We started right on the stream at the kids area in Cross Fork. There is ample room to cast and generally there are always fish there. It is more fun for them if they actually have a chance to catch one. He was able to pick up some fish on the very first outing. One of the most important things to stress on casting is to relax and allow the rod to do the work. Be sure to stay at 10 and 2 and allow the line to straighten out behind you prior to the forecast. Roll casting is also an easy cast to make for beginners. Get them on a wet fly like a wooly bugger or a bead head nymph that will drift well. Make it fun too. I see some Dads get really frustrated really quick and that can kill the fun. Put emphasis on learning, and being out on the stream on a beautiful day with your family. Catching a fish is just a bonus. Teach them to keep the area clean and support catch and release. It is a great joy to watch your child catch trout on their own with a fly rod. I wish more families took the chance.
Early the better. My husband got me into fly fishing 5 years ago and loving every bit of it. He started fishing as young as 3 years old on the pond of their family's farm and he's been hooked ever since. We're hoping to be blessed with children so and if we do, we can't wait to pass the tradition onto them. A family that fish together, stays together :-)
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