Getting - and Keeping Kids in Fishing — Kelly Hunt

Getting kids to love fishing

FISHING WITH KIDS By Kelly Hunt

Here is a subject that is close to my heart. Fishing with kids and how to make it work for you. I had to do this through necessity because I have 4 energetic and engaged kids. This was not always the case and for the better part of their early years, they were a massive handful whenever I went fishing. You may say “Well why on earth would I want to take my kids fishing if that was the case” and that reason is brownie points my friend, BROWN…E…POINTS! If your significant other has been at home with the kids all week and you decide to bug out with mates or on your own for a fish you have lit the fuse. It may not happen the first time or the second, but one day when you come home you are going to have an explosion on your hands that makes Hiroshima look like a throwdown. Take the kids and take them from a young age. Introduce them to skills and adventures that some kids just won’t ever be exposed to. Be an adventurer and pioneer in a time when kids are bubble wrapped and hovered over like an Apache gunship looking to see off an incursion. Get some dirt on their clothes and some grass in their hair and they will love it. Make sure they are not in their Sunday best when you take them or you will be back to square one once home. There are several things to think about when taking kids fishing so let’s have a look at a few.

PACK STUFF

Make sure you have a small esky or soft pack and have some food and drink on hand. Kids will get cranky and not listen to you when their tummies start to speak to them. Make some white bread sangers with heaps of butter and some wheel meat loaded with some tomato sauce if you want to go old school. If you want more brownie points make up some salad wraps and take some fruit they like to eat. A spare set of clothes in the car is also a good idea. So too is a good first aid kit. We don’t want to speak about that too much but get one. Just in case.

They don’t all have to be marlin to get the kids smiling

MINDSET

Right – Clear your mind now of what your expectation is when you take the kids fishing. You will have to change what you do completely if they are below 8 years of age. They don’t do as they are told and you have to watch them like a hawk. So tailor your fishing activity to their age ability and work within that. I am all for taking kids fishing whenever I can but Abseil rock fishing for a five-year-old is a bit of a stretch. Remember this is about time away from work and stress and over complicating your day is not what we are about. So shape the activity around the age of the kids.

BEACH FISHING

This is by far and away the best young children fishing activity you can do while still fishing quite hard yourself. The area is flat and safe as houses for the most part. There are acres of interesting things for the kids to do if the fishing is slow. While you are trying to fool a nice Gummy shark onto your line the kids can be looking for shells and stones or the golden chalice of kid’s beachcombing. The starfish! Try not to have them find any blue-ringed octopus or tread on a stonefish in a rock pool. This can lead to a fair bit of time at the ER and back to square one with the wifey. The bait used is of interest to the kids and the collecting of sandworms at the water’s edge is an amazing thing for a child to behold. The use of chairs and a table makes preparing Australian salmon go hard on light gear and Ella learnt some angling skills fighting this one

The beach is a treasure trove of fun for kids while Dads fish

lunch very easy once their worms start to bite. It is also a good vantage spot for them to watch Dad work his craft and ask lots of questions.

BAIT FISHING

Lures are a great way of catching fish but not when they are young. Casting and recasting can lead to a lot of tangles and general misery with snags both on land and under the water surface. Simple bait fishing in an estuary is my second favourite brownie point collector activity. You can gather up all your kids, hell, gather up the neighbour’s kids and set up. Get some burly in the water and before long you will have some tiddly’s or a few mullet and cocky salmon getting about. Set the kids up to try and catch a few of these and put into a bucket. If you have a fancy esky that turns into a livey tank you will be a god. Kids will watch and play with fish in there for hours while you use the odd one to try and catch a big Jew or kingfish. A tip I have for you is take some sort of flag and tie in a tree a reasonable distance from where you plan to fish. This is where they can throw some rocks in. Because they will. You can tell them not to and all the reason why you shouldn’t, but they still will. So set up a special rock-throwing spot and they can go for their lives. They will also want to swim. This goes for the beach fishing as well. Won’t matter that it’s nine degrees and the middle of winter. They will want to swim. You will tell them no. All the reasons as it’s not a good idea again. Next minute they will be up to their waist in their clothes. So don’t fight it. Just be prepared. In the car at all times have a grab bag of a change of clothes and two towels, ready to go.

WHARVES AND JETTIES

Traditionally the greatest place to spend some time over summer with the kids fishing. These awesome structures are sensational fishing areas. Be warned though. They strike fear into all mothers because the know it all Karen’s at the playgroup or school will find out you take the kids there and fill your wife’s head with all sorts of tragic happenings that have happened to EVERYONE that fishes from there. If you have a wife that likes to smash the panic button like a champion go to the op shop and buy some kids life jackets. You can find some smaller PFD2 jet ski and skiing ones. They are great for sticking on younger kids when you are in and around the wharf or jetty. It is great parenting to take kids places where they learn about fall hazards and “watch where you put your feet” There is normally a lot going on at Wharves and jetties and it can be quite social and a real buzz for kids to see fish being caught.

Fishing is one of few sporting and outdoor pastimes where it matters not whether you are a boy or a girl. I have one son and three daughters and they all like to come fishing and have a day out on the water. Matter of fact my youngest daughter Freya is probably the keenest. My son Mason has recently been doing some trips out on our seven-metre Surtees and he makes me very proud. He is not fully into it and on some occasions he gets seasick but he keeps presenting. This fills me with pride because he doesn’t winge or say “I want to go home” He just knuckles down and deals with it. Has a little sleep, has a little drink of fizzy and has a spew. Then when the fish are on he comes out and gets stuck into them. It is the trips in his past and the fun that we have had together that fuels his desire to be involved even if he gets a bit sick. I fish with great mate Clinton Howe and his son Jake is of similar age and he impresses both Clinton and me with his technique when fighting fish. This is because as a Dad, Clinton has taken interest in him and shown him the correct way. Kids of all ages and genders really appreciate time with their parents.

WHY

LURE FISHING

My kids are 16, 14, 11 and eight, so they do as they are told 50% of the time now. They have been of an age where they can take on direction and occasionally listen. So they have some good casting skills. I have spent a bit of time showing them proper technique and winding with their non-preferred hand so lure fishing comes naturally to them now. Once they have a few skills mastered they do like to get right involved. They like to pick the lures specific to what we are chasing. They like to get an understanding of where the fish are going to be lying or holed up. This is the essence of why I like to take my kids with me. I teach them stuff that is totally different from what they learn at school or with their mum. If you have a 10-year-old and they know how to tie four knots, choose a squid jig colour based on light conditions and hook up the boat. You are on the right track. You can be a super proud dad.

We are now full circle and back at that question of “why would I take my kids fishing” and for mine, the answers are clear and varied. The time spent with them in their formative years and young teens is invaluable. I cannot stress this enough. Yes, the actual life skills they pick up are very handy, but it is the experience from their angle that is the diamond in this rough. The stories they share at school with their mates or the stinky starfish hat you told them to put back in the rock pool will find its way to show and tell. Their perspective and the social benefit of being with Dad is worth its weight in a truck full of mobile phones and iPads. In a world where the lives of children are spent getting a crooked neck from staring at their “device” celebrate a wet car seat and a footwell full of sand. So do not look at fishing with kids as a chore, but a gift you can reap the reward of for years and years.