PA Weekend Fish Trip Ideas for 5 year old?

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Encoded

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Not directly fly fishing related but figured there would be some good advice here. My son continues to ask me when he can go on a fishing trip like dad. He's only 5 so no fly fishing, and frankly not much more than bobber fishing.

Where I'm originally from in the midwest there were lots of "resorts" on lakes where you could rent a "cabin", rent a pontoon boat, and go out and catch panfish, bass etc all day long. I think this is something he'd really enjoy.

Anyone have any good recommendations for something like this in PA? Hope not in the northern third or far west due to drive time from MD.

Thanks for any advice
 
Any farm pond anywhere. Check out a local country club to see if you can take him to the water hazards about 1/2 hour before sunset. If he's only five, plan on about 20-30 minutes for fishing and the rest of the time looking at frogs, turtles, etc. That's what worked for my boys.
 
Dear Encoded,

Realizing that MD spans most of the southern border of PA I would suggest Cordorus State Park since it's only about 10 miles north of the Mason-Dixon line in the middle of the region. It's a large lake for PA and has many access points for shore fishing and a boat rental concession that rents all sorts of boats.

www.pa.gov

Codorus State Park

Codorus State Park
www.pa.gov www.pa.gov

Regards,

Tim Murphy 🙂
 
Encoded said:
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Where I'm originally from in the midwest there were lots of "resorts" on lakes where you could rent a "cabin", rent a pontoon boat, and go out and catch panfish, bass etc all day long. I think this is something he'd really enjoy.
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That's something that I would really enjoy. My sister lives in Ames, Iowa. Do you know of any places like that within reasonable driving distance of there?

I think you can rent a pontoon boat at Raystown Lake.
 
You don't need to travel for a simple kids bluegill trip. If you drive more than 20 minutes you are doing it wrong. Quick drive. Get right to fishing. When he's had enough you jump in the car and are home quick.

As suggested, ask golf courses if they have a pond to fish. Take a cruise around a rural area and see if you can find a pond to ask permission on. Scope out some state parks Even city park ponds might get the job done.
 
Hear me out on two points that might initially seem contradictory:

1) Don't plan a weekend or even a day or an hour around fishing. Plan to go fishing, and then let whatever happens happen. A 5 year old might be interested in fishing for, seriously, 15 minutes and then want to throw rocks or chase tadpoles. Lean into that. If you're building this around a destination, be open to / make sure there are other fun options.

2) If you prefer fly fishing, 5 year olds can cast a fly rod. In some ways, overhead casting a few feet of line - with a single dry or a worm - and stripping it in is mechanically more simple than the timing of a casting a push-button Snoopy rod and dealing with a bobber/weight/bait rig that gets all spun up. I have no interest in spin fishing, so my kids were exposed to fly fishing from the same age as yours. They pretty much immediately chose that method over their Zebcos because, I imagine, that's what dad does.

(And I'll give one final secret I've learned along the way: my kids have many, many times been the only ones on the pond catching fish - with a fly rod and a squirmy (or Copper John or EHC or etc) - while the other kids are getting skunked throwing Buick-sized crankbaits or bait with 16 oz pyramid sinkers.)
 
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A red and white bobber is a right of passage for a child. So glad your not hell bent on training your 5 year old to make the fly fishing team USA. The thrill of seeing the bobber go under has far greater excitement to a 5 year old than a tight loop. Least we forget this is for the child not the adult.

While you can accomplish your goals at almost any state park in PA, I agree a quick trip to a local water is all that is needed. To extend the time together you can make the preparation part of the event as well. The day before or morning of you can dig your worms or catch crickets together. When the kid bores of fishing you can skip rocks and generally screw around until he is bored of screwing around. Maybe hit McDonalds, or any place the kid wanted to go for some good tasting unhealthy food away from Mom before getting home. You can continue your trip by pitching a tent in the backyard and grilling some hotdogs. Just writing this post floods my mind with great memories not only from raising my own children but also from my father raising me. Now that’s fishing! Your living moments that will last a lifetime, it’s not about where you go it’s just that you go. Enjoy.
 
I have done the kids and grandkids so I also suggest 15 - 20 minutes in a pond where there is something else to do. If I can find a park with a playground and a pond that is the best. Doesn't matter if the fish are tiny, kids love to catch anything and my grandkids play with the worms more than fish. They will catch frogs, skip stones, stomp in water as much as fish.

Here are a few suggestions from my experience

Safety first - have your kid wear glasses or sunglasses for eye protection
I start them with a 10' canepole - simpler and easier than casting
If using bait I use 10X cricket hooks or 4X to 6X streamer hooks. Easier to remove since you have something to hold on to if a small fish swallows the hook.
Bobbers are OK but more subtle floats or nymph indicators may be more sensitive for small fish.
Flies etc often outfish crude bait rigs. My "secret lure" when my kids were little was a pink marabou jig tied sparsely on a 1/64 oz jig.

Have fun! Kids really enough the outdoors, but don't get enough of it. When they are 5 you don't have to go far because what they value is your attention, not scenery or big fish. When my son was about 5 I had him hold a rod trolling in a pond for sunnies. A 4 lbs pickerel hit which scared him and he handed the rod to me as fast as he could. He didn't enjoy looking at that big tooth filled mouth.
 
Alot of the state parks rent cabins. I can personally attest that Ricketts Glenn are quite nIce. There is also alot to see there.
There is a lake that has alot of sunnies that should be cooperative. Also note that at 5, a kids attention is about 5 span munutes. Gauranteed he has as much fun catching salamanders, frogs, feeding geese etc as he does fishing. He will also be covered in mud and soaking wet. Bring clean dry clothes, a towel and a picnic lunch. To him, the whole experience is "fishing" not just rod and reel. Let him be a kid and explore on his own. He will be hooked on the outdoors
 
Best place to take a kid to fish in Pennsylvania, far and away: Clark's Creek near Dauphin, section for children 12 and younger and people with disabilities. Several pools with easy young kid access, and sections for wading and learning elsewhere. Whole section is full of trout. There's also a cooperative hatchery where kids can buy a bag of food and feed the fish (E.J. Stackpole Memorial Nursery; https://www.visithersheyharrisburg.org/trails/adventure-trail/fishing/clarks-creek/).

Possibly best of all, just about two miles away is 3B Ice Cream, where they have two sizes, kids and small. And, to be clear, a small is only small if you are Andre the Giant.
 
Why not teach the kid to fly fish? It's fewer moving parts than conventional gear — pull out a fixed length of line and you're done. I taught both my kids to fly fish at that age. Grab a cheap Eagle Claw rod for 40 bucks and have at it.
 
Thanks all for the replies so far.

To the folks recommending ponds around where we live, we're definitely already doing that and have a nice neighborhood pond near by that works fine, but gets a little stale for him. When he asks to go fishing, we go, but he's been asking recently to go specifically on a trip like dad - which to him means overnight, hotel, etc

The primary appeal of a trip to PA is the trip itself, not necessarily just the fishing, though admittedly renting a pontoon and bobbering for crappie in 15 feet of water sounds really fun. The "resort" appeal is having lots of other things to do so if he doesn't want to fish there's plenty else to do in the area. Eventually I plan on moving into camping/fish trips, and ultimately fly fishing trips together.

Again - appreciate all the inputs!
 
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