I knew he was addicted to the sport when I came home from work one February day to find a freezing cold red-cheeked 4 year old excited about his “day of fishing” in the back yard.  Will was fishing for Blue Marlin (in Toronto) in 6 inches of snow.  When asked how he did, he responded “it was a great day Dad… I landed a big one and lost a Giant at the boat, I let the first one go” What did I do to create this?  Today Will is almost 6, and still as passionate about all kinds of fishing as he was after the first time I took him out.

There will come a time in every angler's life when they will expose someone new to the sport we love... I wanted to share with you some “do's” I've learned in taking someone fishing who has never gone before.

Let’s start with Kids – there are a number of tips to ensure 1st time angling success – these are just a few. We all love to fish, and as avid anglers, we know the sport can be very selfish - up early, out ALL day long under bluebird skies, or driving rain and sometimes snow.  Well there are a number of factors to consider when taking children fishing for the first time.

Dress appropriately - nothing can be more uncomfortable for a child to be wet/cold/or hot... do a bit of research on the net or watch the local weather patterns to make sure you are set – and plan for the unexpected. Remember they will be donning a lifejacket… and they can be warm!


Wind – be it freshwater or saltwater, wind direction and speed is very important in the success of a fishing trip… if it’s windy, and you decide to go out, gauge the intestinal fortitude of your youngster – if in doubt, hit the lee-side. The last thing you want is for Jr. to be uncontrollably chumming for your favorite species.

Time – keep your timing in check – maybe day 1 isn’t the time to do a 2 hour run at 65 miles an hour to an isolated GPS waypoint, fish the area for 8 hours and make the run home.  1st time impressions are VITAL, if the kids want to go in, take ‘em in or at least you can delay a bit by fishing for distractions

Bought BAIT = Borrowed time.   A bucketful of minnows or box of worms can go a long way even if you’re fishing plastics or lures. If the kids want to put down the rods for a bit, let them, encourage worm races or see if they can net up some stealthy shiners or menhaden it just might be the distraction they need to continue out on the water… however if your amateur angler wants to go in, don’t stretch it out, take them home and play their game.  There is lots of time to fish.

Species – pick a species of fish that your fishing buddy has a chance to catch.  I personally wouldn’t take a first timer flyfishing for bones or casting for musky… I would however fish grunts or panfish or whatever is ravenously hungry and plentiful.  For smaller kids, Id suggest you set them up with a simple circle hook drop-shot rig and live bait for these little critters.  Using a circle hook basically eliminates the need for Jr. to have to set the hook themselves…(which could prove difficult and frustrating) The fish will do it all on their own.  I took my then-3 year old son Will fishing for the first time for Jumbo Perch  – used the circle hook rig and had huge success.  I was so busy baiting minnows for him and taking fish off his hook, I barely had a chance to catch anything – it was AWESOME!


These are some of the lessons I have picked up over the years of bringing kids fishing – and to my knowledge, and from the photos I often still get, all of them are still fishing today.  Isn’t that the point? I love the fact that Will would rather go fishing than play a video game.