My Daughter's First Time Fly Fishing

[Six-Gun]

After we went to an outdoor shooting range together the other day, I took my 6-year-old daughter to a nearby park to watch the ducks and doves come into the small pond it features. We noticed a boatload of small panfish swimming around the place, which turned out to be green sunfish. If you've ever fished for these - as I'm sure most of us have - you know they're perfect for kids because they bite like crazy. So, I promised her that we would come back after I got home from work one day this week and she would get a chance to catch some with my smaller, TFO 6' 2-wt. fly rod. Boy, did she ever!

Here's some footage I strung together of a few of her catches:
http://youtu.be/CvLqxwOPvbE

There was little critiquing going on here - the main objective was to have fun. As long as she got the little bit of line I gave her to cast out to a respectable distance, we called it good. It may not have the glamour of big browns on a freestone run in a secluded stretch of woods, but it got her interest and she wants to come back. I say "mission accomplished."

This little fella got so worked up, he attacked the strike indicator and lodged it in his mouth - he wasn't hooked at all and she hauled him in on the Thingamabobber!

 

[turkey]

Very nice! Looks like an excellent time.

 

[lv2nymph]

That's awesome, she was really rippin em out of there. She looks hooked, I liked when she said oh that's a bigger one. She might be ready for bass!!! Well done getting her out dad, you should be proud. Time with your children is a fleeting thing, time should always be taken to enjoy them. Congrats.

 

[boychick]

Great story, thanks for sharing.

 

[krayfish]

Simply awesome. Congrats. Like the previous post mentioned, parents ....actually being parents isn't so "cool" anymore. You prove that wrong and what you just did will be a great memory for her 50 years from now.

If you would, PM your address so I can send a Cowboys jersey for her. You can't take that child out in public wearing a shirt like that!! ;-)

 

[Foxgap239]

AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks for sharing.

 

[PatrickC]

Good stuff! We all love our time on the water, but at the end of the day...there is nothing better than seeing your children enjoy their time on the water! Keep up the good work!

 

[Railking]

That's great!

I was fishing Monocacy one night and there were two kids dunking worms from the bank. They saw me catch a few browns on olives and told me that didn't have any luck. As I'm telling them those wild browns are pretty selective and smart, someone's strike indicator that they lost upstream came floating past us and the fish were just hammering on it.

 

[Foxgap239]

I was fishing the LL the other morning when I noticed a father and daughter upstream from me fishing. I asked if they had gotten one yet but the father said no and they were still trying. They disappeared from the stream and about 2 minutes later appeared on the bank right behind me. I never wanted to hook a fish so bad in my life. I wanted to hand that rod to the little girl and watch her face but as luck, or lack thereof, would have it, no joy. I was really bummed.

 

[WildTigerTrout]

Excellent job Dad. She looked like she was REALLY having fun and that's what it's all about. Good casting also.

 

[Six-Gun]

Thanks for all the great comments and stories. It's great to see a commuity that understands how important it is to show this sport to the next generation. Without them and their desire to protect our ability to hunt and fish, we've got nothing to look forward to when it's time to teach our grandkids these great pastimes.

As for mine, she had been out with me previously on a canoe fly fishing trip on a stocked reservoir in eastern Nevada around late May, but it was already getting into the warm water season and things were slow by the standards of that place (which is roaring with bites in early March). Also, she really didn't want to take the rod and was a little scared that she wouldn't be able to control the fish. So, she was really just along for the ride that time. We caught a few very respectable trout and a "big" (as she called it, coming it about 0.5 lbs) largemouth bass, but she got bored pretty quickly because the action was just not fast or consistent.

I decided that this time out, it would be a trip like you saw above: very small water to keep strike density up, close to the house to minimzie travel time, and with a swarming panfish species that makes things easy for a kid. She was confident to hold the rod with these little gamefish and once she caught the first one it was all over: she wasn't giving that rod up for anything. That was my great joy to see. (Oh, and krayfish, she won't be giving up that Lesean McCoy jersey anytime soon either; Sunday Eagles games are another thing we enjoy together :-D )

Once again, that little Temple Fork Signature Series II rod proved to be a great investment and not just for smallwater streams. The sad fact of it is, I may not be its owner for much longer.

 

[lv2nymph]

I hope you lose that rod to her... :-D

 

[Six-Gun]

lv2nymph wrote:
I hope you lose that rod to her... :-D

At this point, I'd say it's danged near inevitable. It only sucks because I just bought it!

 

[dc410]

Nice job! The smile pretty much says it all. Cherish those moments, believe me they don't last forever.

 

[lv2nymph]

True, but it's a good lose, hopefully a vise purchase is in your future. If so if she's anything like my daughter you can start buying any material you can find in pink. ;-)

 

[Coughlin]

Awww...this reminds me of the first time I took my 5 yr. old daughter fishing and she caught a three inch sunny. I have a picture of her in a sun dress, pigtails, and a s-eating grin holding that fish up high on a string. We had a great time fishing and tying flies right up until she discovered boys.
Coughlin

 

[Six-Gun]

I hear ya man. Mine started 1st grade today, and the pace of life make you realize rather quickly that these innocent, fun days together won't last forever. In the mean time, I did manage to get her out yesterday to catch a few more. She really loves that place now.