teaching

I'm taking my 10 year old nephew fishing on Monday (a public holiday),fly fishing that is...any tips on teaching?

Thanks JC,never thought of that!Just my luck to get skunked!But seriously,have any of you ever taught a youngster to flyfish?I don't wanna teach him any bad habits.

[SteelieD]

Don't take your rod, let him learn at his pace, and don't force it.
If he has a good experience you'll have a partner for life!
GOOD LUCK!

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"Dad can we go fishing?"

"Yes. Of course we can."

Say yes, always say yes.

[This message has been edited by SteelieD (edited 28 April 2005).]

[2_left_hands]

Adam,

Patience!

I take my son out often who is also ten years old. You have to keep in mind that the skills that you have learned are not embedded into your nephew. I started out with my son by spooling a reel and explaining to him what the backing was, fly line, leader, tippet etc...

Choose a place to fish that is wide open if possible, make it fun for both of you and don't expect to fish yourself. I find that I stay relatively busy with helping my son. If you do end up making a few casts and get lucky enough to hook a fish; let your nephew try and land it. I find that I get more enjoyment out of watching him with a fish on then I ever have had landing one myself.

I hope you both have a great time and re-post after the trip.

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If I can't fish, I may as well go to work

I guess I'd better chime in here and "pay it forward", since I've been doing much the same with my daughter and received so much help from this Board.

First, I'd recommend doing a couple searches on this site using "kids", "children", and "teaching" as key words. Those will bring up quite a few results and plenty of information.

I'm definately not qualified to provide "technique" pointers for you, and will leave that to others here. But I teach snow skiing/boarding to a lot of kids each winter, and have some experience with teaching my own children fly fishing (among other things). I think the advice of "leave your pole at home" and "fish on their timeline not yours" have real merit. It has to be fun, and remember that for many children, the attention span is... well... almost non-existant. Don't sweat it when they want to (heaven forbid) skip rocks instead of fish. Or any other diversion for that matter. And be sure you go to a location where you'll likely do as JC suggests above, but also where you won't be uncomfortable, and they won't be disturbing others when they do participate in the "other" activities. I would like to point out though, that there is no excuse for improper etiquette. That aspect of the teaching should go hand in hand with the "mechanics" aspect.

Finally, don't stay too long. In fact, leave when he still wants to stay. You want him to WANT to do it again. First impression and last impression is generally what stays with them.

Good luck and please pass any pointers you learn in the process on to me.

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The smarter I get the less I know.

Make it FUN for HIM!

Allan

[LadyFisher]

Take lots of snacks and goodies to much on,
gives the kid a break and you can talk about what is happening while you are eating.

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LadyFisher, Publisher of
FAOL

[beadleech]

From teaching my son to flyfish when he was about that age [Leave your rod at home unless he insists you take it. If he does then do.]

Try to get him/her "his" rod.
Should be something like a 7 1/2 or 8' 4 or 5 wgt.
SLOWLY show him how to make a backcast and forward cast SEPERATELY. Let the backcast drop to the ground.
When he can get 15-20 feet of line out [including the leader] take him to a bluegill pond with a few foam spiders and woolies. Let him pick the first fly to use.

Turn him loose.

Keep some of his fish so he can show his mother. Put some back. Explain why. It would be neat if you have some kind of container at home so he can keep the fish a day or two to show his friends. Cook a few of his fish no matter how small.

Stay as long as he wants but do leave when he is ready to leave.

It was 20 some years ago when I did that and we still fish together several times a summer!

Donald

[Coach Robb]

I've been a BSA fishing and fly fishing merit badge counselor for 4 years. I have four 7' 5/6 wt. throw away rods so I'm not worried about breakage. Quantity is more important than quality be sure to go some where that is less of a challenge even if the fish are small. 10 year olds are sponges don't be afraid to teach easy knots and let them try. Wear eye protection. Let them fail. Screw ups are great teachers. Don't let mistakes move to frustration. Don't expect to fish your self. I had an 17 year old special needs scout back a 17" bass up on the shore to excited to reel. His grin will stick with me forever.RH

[flysoup]

Howdy Adam.
You have been given some great info here.
Now if you think for just a min. What does a 10 year old boy like? Questions man questions. ????
What are the fish eating? Why to you use flies? What color is the water to the fish? Does the sky still look blue to them? Will worms work better? What do we have to eat? Can I eat raw fish? Can fish breath out of the water? Will a blue fly work better that a red fly?
Of course you can not know everything.
You might try this. Get a sample net to find out just what is in the water. NO net, a hanger and a pair of panty hose. White is best. Hold the net down stream and shake a rock or two. On a pond drag it over a weed bed. Now if you can get him there the day before the trip or you can go early and sample the aquadic life bottle and use it to show what the nymphs look like. It will connect the fly to the food that fish have to eat.
Take time to let him skip a rock. Get his feet wet, Be a Boy in your mind but remember to keep it safe. Please. keep it very safe.
Have fun learing all over again. It is Great.
ol Al

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Ol' Flysoup
Flycasting is as easy as flysoup