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I plan on having the grand kids (ages 8 and 10) join me on a fishing trip to NH.
They will have spinning rods. They have not used their fly rods yet.
They have caught trout on live bait (Crawlers) while still fishing.
I would like then to catch fish on this trip to keep their interest up at this early age.
I know we all enjoy fly fishing but, any suggestions on bait or lures would help.
Thanks TonyC
My 3 oldest granddaughters, ages 9, 5 & 2 1/2 all recently have done very well for small bass & nice gills using jars of Berkley Gulp earthworms & maggots. IMHO, they work as well as live bait & are far easier & more durable. They also have trout & crappie nibbles. All are available at WalMart.
Mike
The international expert in this is my hero and mentor Joe, of Joe's Worms & Juicy Grubbs, & Special Protein Drink & Furled Trot Lines.
Tony C.
While I have nothing against bait; I have had great luck rigging my nieces & nephews spinning rods with small nymphs like a bead head Prince or bead head Gold Ribbed Hares Ear.
I put it under a weighted foam bobber, (AKA strike indicator 8) ) available at Wal*Mart or other tackle shops. The weighted bobber allows them to easily cast a weightless "bait" and the bead-head helps keep tangles to a minimum.
The advantage to this rig is I don't have to spend the whole day re-baiting hooks and explaining to small children why impaling a worm on a hook is OK. Setting the hook a bit sooner on a fly strike is also a good lesson to learn at a young age and my clan picked it up quickly.
Another suggestion IF you go the bait route is get some Eagle Claw L702 Circle hooks. They work GREAT with kids! They often find a fish on the end of their lines without doing anything. I want to try tying some weighted nymphs on those same hooks to make it easier for the kids to set the hook on flies.
Other flies I've had good luck with the kids are San Juan Worms and just thread wrapped on a bare hook but unweighted flies seem to tangle more when using spinning tackle unless you lob the cast which kids sometimes don't do.
Have fun!
Most tackle stores sell a clear plastic float--teardrop in shape with a screw eye it each end. I use these when children want to use a fly on a spinning or casting reel. I have painted most white so they can see the strike--rod line to the small end of the float and 2 to 3 feet at the other eye of mono to the fly.
If you wish to stick with bait. Try to find Superworms in bait shops. They are cousins to mealworms but much larger. I have yet to see a fish spicies that would be able to resist them.
And another trick. Buy a tube of "Megastrike" and put a dab of it on your bait. In our experiments it will at least double the catch rate.
Nymphs on casting bubbles and bobbers work great with spin gear. Another way to keep 'em interested at that age is to go "hunting" for bait. Kids love digging in the dirt for worms, and grubs and catching crickets and hoppers.