Teaching my son to FF

[FlyGuyFromPa]

I hope I'm putting this in the correct place. I was wondering if some of you anyone can give me some advice on how to get my 9 year old started on the fly. I've read several articles, but I'd like to hear some real life success stories. Also, what size/wt combo would be a good starter? I have a great pond near my house loaded with smaller bluegills, stockies, and catfish. Any advice on how to go about this? He has interest, and I want to make sure I start him off the proper way. Having never spin fished (he usually just let's line out right off the dock, no casting) he won't have to deal with what I call the "unlearning curve" I'm dealing with right now.

 

[johnh]

I am just starting out myself and I am teaching my 8 year old son with me. He loves spin fishing and last year I did a guided fly trip in montana and want to start fly fishing now. I got him a cheap setup from wallmart and its a 5/6 weight rod. I cant wait. To see what replies you get from others besides this newbie

 

[pro4mance]

Check out Echo Gecko rods, sorry cant post link. Or if you just want to get them casting I bought a Micro Practice Rod for myself and my son, you can use it indoors. I'm still a newbie but working on it

 

[JackM]

I taught my son. We started on streams. What really turned him on was his first hatch: Green Drakes on Spruce Creek-- it was magical. I find that letting them bring to hand your hooked fish will help. I also took him to bluegill ponds/lakes. If he doesn't have to unlearn, then the casting stroke will be easier to teach.

 

[perrycountypappy]

After teaching two grandsons to fish there may be no tired and true method but since your son is a little older I would get him just casting in the back yard this winter.{ You may have already done this}

But I told my grandsons not to worry about how much line they were getting out. I think 20 feet was tops and my one grandson started when he was 5 with a length of line maybe 20 feet long tied to the butt of the rod and I got him casting to different spots in the yard. That translated to the pond for blue gills much easier than the first grandson. Your child being older it will have to be to the reel i am sure!

It is easy for 8-10 year old kids to get a length of line out 20 feet and feel comfortable giving it a flick from front to back to front again, think about it isn't that what we do on most small streams anyway!

Good luck and have fun.

 

[FlyGuyFromPa]

Thanks for the great info everyone. I'm going to order a practice rod so he can get used to it before spring hits.

 

[The_Sasquatch]

I'm already working w/ my 3 yr old. I let her cast a little 6' 6wt I have. I have to hold her arm as she does it, of course, but she likes it and asks often if we can practice casting. Your son is probably a little bigger ;-)

What gets my daughter the most excited is seeing the fish. I took her to a local stream that is littered w/ stocked bows, and let her reel in the fish, hold them, etc. I also try to explain everything I'm doing as I'm doing it. I don't know how much she's retaining, but at least she's hearing it.

 

[troutbert]

I think you should start young kids out spinfishing and let them enjoy that several years. It's just much easier to handle for kids, less frustrating for them.

Take them panfishing for bluegills. Bobber and worms. It is often pretty fast fishing, so they get to enjoy fishing, and it works better with their attention spans. It's lots of fun. And not just for kids.

Then get them started on flyfishing a little later. And start out with panfish.

Learning to spin fish first does not impede learning to flyfish later on, IMHO. It's no disadvantage at all.

Let kids get a little older before starting flyfishing is best, IMHO.

 

[bgibb]

i'll throw in my 2 cents. My son is seven and in dec. he finally caught one on his own with the fly rod-cast, set the hook, and landed. Take him along and talk to him about what you are doing and let him try. sometimes that is more productive than yard casting. he got bored with grassfish. i started with something he could master easier than mending-the roll cast. the confidence gained helps as you try to help him with new skills. i think sometimes just letting him wing the fly line around isn't that bad. it lets him develop feel for the rod and he has a blast doing it. if i'm not on a ffo stretch i always take a spinning rod for if he gets frustrated. even chasing bluegills with worms can teach him to find and fish structure or get the bobber to float to the structure. reading the water is half the battle. lakes, streams, whatever-find eager fish. and yes let him play your fish. I'm pretty lucky. my boy will fish dark to dark unless you make him stop. a bag of scooby snacks and some water and he's good to go.

 

[osprey]

Once the water warms up some and especially when they start to spawn those bluegills in that pond will provide him with the spark , it's my experience that if kids aren't catching fish they get bored quickly , with a nice day and a fly like a foam ant he will be catchin bluegills and you have lit the fire.

 

[troutbert]

For the youngest kids, just starting out, the way to go is just a fishing pole, either an old school bamboo pole, or you can get a telescoping, graphite panfish pole, 10, 12, or 14 ft long from Cabelas. There's no reel seat, and no guides except at the tip.

The line is just tied on at the tip, and you just cast out a worm and bobber by flipping it out there. This is the easiest possible outfit for a kid to fish with.

Kids can learn to handle an outfit like this, casting it out there and hooking the fish and bringing it in, at quite a young age. Because there is no reel to fool around with and get snarled up.

Then the next step should be a spincasting outfit, with the button. That's easier for kids than the regular open bail spinning outfit.

Then they should learn to use a regular spinning outfit.

Then flyfishing. One step at a time.

 

[PennypackFlyer]

Just a word of advise...Do not be anal when teaching. Let the mistakes pass and enjoy. I have a daughter that can fish up a storm however, she will pass on it because I was anal while providing instructions and dragging her with me wherever I went. (Now I know better)

 

[FlyGuyFromPa]

I'd like to start him on the fly because bait casting and spin fishing are one of the easiest things to learn. Fly fishing gives more experience when it comes to the outdoors in general. Learning bugs you never knew about, determining what structure is best to fish for your "target" fish and eventually, tying your own flies for pennies instead of buying them for $2-$3 each. PennypackFlyer, I've never been that type of teacher. I believe to a certain extent that kids need to learn, then once they are taught it's up to them to ask questions. Sure I might chime in every now and then if he's doing something he shouldn't be, but he's extremely patient when it comes to fishing. If I could go back and do things over, I'd learn to fly fish first.

 

[pcray1231]

When I was 9 I was already pretty good with a spinning rod. I'd wear waders, but I wasn't that tall, so my dad would carry me across bigger streams on his back. But I could cast as well as many adults and tie my own knots, bait my own hooks, get out my own tangles, etc.

I did get bored if fishing was slow, but in those cases I'd wade around the shallows looking for crayfish, find a spring seep and dig up salamandars, etc. There's just so much to do in the great outdoors. I did fish a local farm pond for gills and bass, but that was just a time spender, I liked stream fishing better. On the pond, there wasn't really anywhere to go. On a stream, you could constantly fish different spots. Impatience is cured by moving, every new area brings renewed expectations.

I plan to start my kid a little earlier, probably 4 or 5. The first outing will likely be gills but I'll try to give him a range of fishing experiences and see what he likes. I truly can't wait. As of now (1 year old) his idea of fun is to stay inside and play with toys. Going places means getting strapped in that hateful car seat and leaving most of his toys. The problem is that daddy gets cabin fever, watching a 1 year old push cars around the floor all day every day gets kind of old, as does peekaboo. Acting like you're still as thrilled about it as he is takes some acting...

 

[FlyGuyFromPa]

Last year my son had the same problem. He was either constantly on his tablet, or his xbox. This year his passion to fish is getting stronger. I also have a 1 year old running around, and man she's a trip. I stopped cleaning my house until she naps. Then I clean it again when she's in bed for the day. She is literally into everything.

 

[JackM]

You can start on the fly rod. My son flip-cast for at least two years without too much trouble. Eventually, I showed him how to get more line out by casting a loop. The advice about patience and not being too forceful is excellent and I wish I had known it in the first couple years of teaching Gino.

 

[PennypackFlyer]

Unfortunately I cannot turn back time.
I did ask my daughter if she wanted to go with me to the Flyfishing show on Jan 27th and she asked if she could bring a friend. So - there's still hope!!
Speaking of flyfishing shows......this is also a great place to get kids interested.....All the equipment, flies, people swirling around each other, casting and fly tying events, etc.

 

[bigslackwater]

My daughter caught her first fish this summer, while we were visiting family in Northern MN. I took her to a store and she picked out a pink ugly stick casting rod, a bobber the size of a softball, and pink panfish jigs! It worked! See my profile pic... I had to help her to get it reeled in and off the hook but you can see the joy on her face. For a guy like me who's seriously in to fishing, this was a big moment!

I'm thinking we will stick with the casting rod for now, but she seems interested in the fly rod, however she's only four. The hardest part is keeping her attention. At that age they can get bored in about 10 seconds.

A few days ago I put a little rubber eraser on the end of her line and let her try casting it in the basement. She was getting it tangled around pipes and things. I told her she had to learn to untangle it herself. She actually did pretty well untangling and it became a game in itself. I think you have to keep a watchful eye, but let them experiment on their own. Interject tips once and a while but give them long periods to problem solve themselves.

 

[PennypackFlyer]

I just remembered something from the past concerning Kindergarden...My daughter's years. She had to go to developmental (half day) kindergarden first because she could not put building blocks together. However, she could tie a fly on and cast, catch and release fish with no problem with a flyrod.

 

[Flyfishmedic732]

in my short experience as a father of 2 (I am marrying a single mother of 2) We both love to fly fish and I think that it is our favorite summertime sport, with that said both her daughter and her son have shown an iinterest in fly casting at least. We started by showing the in the backyard while we were practicing. They grabbed the rods and they started with just a little correction. Her son said to her this past month that he wanted to start to actually fish on the river with us as well. I am gonna keep my eye on this post for sure so I dont lose his interest. I know that the best way is to have fun. My plan is to take him for a "guys" weekend somehwere close by and hopefully get him even more intrested when he sees my father and I flyfishing and I want to teach him the different cycles of the bugs life. IMHO I think teaching kids is different for all. Relax and have fun with them and most importantly I think they just want to spend time with their dad. Any other ideas would be great. I already have the both of them on the vise with me some nights.