By Capt. Chad Loreth
Iowa Great Lakes Outdoors, Inc.
I see many times where writers always close a fishing article with “Don’t forget to take a kid fishing!” which is definitely something we as adult anglers need to do if we want the sport to exist in the future. It’s no secret that there’s a need for more youth and new anglers to get involved with fishing, because, unfortunately, fewer young anglers take interest in the sport in favor of other activities and some adult anglers are aging out as they get older. The number of guide service customers that fish with us each year always amazes me as many of these people, young and old are new to fishing.
This says something about everyone in the fishing industry and those that support it. The great job everyone is doing to promote and also recruit new people into a great sport that is part of our heritage will insure that we all have the opportunity to fish in the future. So how do you as an avid angler or outdoors person get someone involved with fishing when you head to the lake? The answer starts with bringing someone with you!
Mentor a New Youth Angler
As a fishing guide and avid outdoorsman, I’ve had the opportunity to see lots of kids get involved with fishing over the years. I have been fortunate to have a father and uncle who took me fishing as a youth. Some of my fondest memories on the water involve these two men. My wife and I started our kids fishing at an early age and they still fish today. The goal of any parent or mentor when they take a youngster out on the water is to get them catching. The species or size of fish should not be important because the goal is to get kids bending the rods and having a good time, right? So what should you fish for? Anything providing lots of action to keep kids engaged in the activity gets my vote.
I’ve seen several times where parents or mentors get the kids on a good bite and they are having a great time, but often the adults or mentors are the first to grow bored and want to catch something bigger and better. All of us as adults are guilty of this. At first, the kids are ok with the idea and excited, but eventually these young anglers express their desire to go back to fishing for the faster bite. This is especially true if your “Bigger Fish and Better Bite” didn’t work out as planned. The trip to the lake with any youth should be about them, each and every time, and on their time frame until they begin to grow as young anglers. If they are ready to go after a couple of hours no matter how good the bite is, or isn’t, it’s time to go. Chalk the day up as a success because you got them outside and away from the electronics of today’s world like television and smart phones.
I’m not saying that these young anglers need to be given everything on a silver platter and not have to work for it, but to get them interested in the sport and keep them interested for the rest of their lives, they have to get the right start. So what’s the right start? For me, it began with my dad and an uncle as mentioned-who both liked walleye fishing but would never abandon a good bite. The days they picked though? Not always the best or maybe we just had bad luck with Mother Nature. Cold, windy and wet days are what they lived for with a good walleye chop.
Instead, I suggest picking a good day where the weather is nice, get the latest fishing report from any local bait shop, gather up your equipment and keep it simple- you might be going shore fishing or fishing in a boat just for bluegills or crappies which does not require you to bring everything under the kitchen sink with you! I’ve found that the months of June, July and August provide some of the best fishing when taking kids to the lake or out on the water. The weather is nice and the fish bite well, which are two keys to success in getting youngsters to enjoy fishing. A slip bobber, small split shot and a small ice fishing jig or hook with a Belgium worm will guarantee you will have good success.
More than likely you are only going to be out a couple hours, but to those young anglers that’s a long time. Driving two hours to fish, fishing for a couple hours, and driving two hours home may seem like a waste of time to some adults, if their young angler doesn’t want to fish a long time. But to me? That’s an opportunity to make an adventure out of the trip for the day and fishing is just one part of it. We’ve all heard of the buzz word “Stay-cation” where families take a mini vacation to save money or due to busy schedules. A short fishing trip to the lake can be one of the greatest memories for a young angler if you find a number of other things to do when they get tired of fishing, which they all do at some point.
One of the things we always did as a family is bring along lunch and stop at a state park when we were done at the lake. Other things included stops at points of interest or historical sites. One that I definitely recommend if you are in Okoboji, IA with your youngster for a fishing trip is the Iowa Great Lakes Maritime Museum which can further spark a kid’s interest in fishing, boating or the outdoors. Just remember- if you aren’t having fun, they definitely aren’t having fun so keep things on your trip, in the boat or on the bank interesting for youngsters. If they would rather play with the leeches and give them nicknames than fish, let them! These are the memories that help them grow as young anglers and eventually become your fishing partners for life.
Seek Out Existing and New Adult Anglers
Another aspect of being a guide I enjoy the most besides having kids in the boat is seeing adults new to the sport of fishing join us. We get anglers of all ages and experience levels in our boat and some of the most memorable trips with customers have been with adults that don’t get the opportunity to fish much. Often times, these customers are interested in more aspects of the sport then just catching, but catching is a critical key to success when we provide any type of education regarding fishing for them.
The other aspect of taking someone fishing is we have LOTS of very experienced anglers who may no longer be able to physically go on their own because they are older or may have become disabled but still enjoy the sport immensely and just need someone to take them. The biggest hurdle in getting them out with you is they may be used to doing everything themselves and this is hard for them to overcome if they can’t anymore. I will many times tell them don’t worry about it- their job is to set the hook and reel, my job is to run the boat, make sure they have bait and net their fish. When it’s presented in this way, they usually give in pretty quickly and realize that the day is about having fun, and it doesn’t matter if they need help. All of you as readers are fishing guides whether you realize it or not. There are definitely more people that don’t have someone willing to take them to the lake than you can imagine, but they are just waiting for the invite whether they be a family member, neighbor or friend. Heck- I’ll need help eventually and hope there’s somebody willing to take me at some point! Hence comes the young angler you mentored years ago who is now an angler themselves!
Measuring Your Success
How do you know that your trip and the efforts you put in to a youngster or person taking them fishing was successful? If they are grinning from ear to ear, it’s a good indication that they had a good time! Having a good time is what fishing is really about, and that’s not hard to do when success for the day isn’t just a limit of fish. Often times, I think we place too much of an emphasis on a daily limit as a measure of a successful day. When my wife and I with our young kids lived in Little Falls, MN, we resided one block from the boat ramp on the Mississippi River so we fished a lot. Many of our trips to the river were after work and were short, so cleaning a pile of fish was not the most fun with my wife needing help getting the kids put to bed when we got home.
We are a CPR (Catch, Photo Release) family because we found this to be just as fun and rewarding as limits of fish. We instilled the importance of good conservation of our resources in our kids and the importance of letting big fish go for others to enjoy. We definitely enjoy keeping fish to eat, but it isn’t the most important part of the trip when we hit the water. Remember that a measure of success for one person is different than another person. We all know, you can’t catch em’ from the couch, so take someone with you when heading to the lake- the adventure is just as fun as the catching!
