First Time Fishing with Grandson

[Ralph Tomaccio]

I plan on taking my 9 year old grandson fishing for the first time and want to have him experience some level of success on his first outing. He lives in the Fitchburg MA area and I was wondering if anyone can recommend a pond/lake or stream near there where there is a good chance of catching something - blue gills, whatever.

I'd love to get him going with fly fishing, but wonder if I should stick with bait for now. What do you think?
Thanks for your help.

[Eric-WD]

First time out, power bait and worms. also don't plan on fishing much yourself. Oh and don't forget the camera we want pictures.

Eric

[LadyFisher]

The local firefighters sponsor an annual kids event at the lagoon of the park in Livingston. Pictures and story next week. Power bait was allowed and the kids had a ball. Biggest fish taken was 2 1/2 pounds (brown trout) I'm all for doing whatever it takes gear-wise to catch fish. Those kids are the future of all of the fishing of course. Fisheries people planted a truck load of fish too. *S*

[rainbowchaser]

I have to agree with Eric. Unless he has been around when you are practicing and has already become a passable caster he is very unlikely to catch enough with a fly rod. Kids need to catch a lot of fish to stay interested. When he does lose interest don't push it. Catch frogs or bugs for a while and wait for him to want to fish some more.

[jimsnarocks]

I don't know anything about lakes or ponds around the area you mentioned.
I do know about taking grandsons and granddaughters fishing. Like the others mentioned, rig him up so he can catch something to keep him interested. Be sure to take snacks and drinks.
The first time I took my oldest grandson fishing we went to a pay to catch and keep trout pond. His only fish was a 3lb rainbow that costed me $15.00. The whole trip was priceless. Have fun and enjoy your time with him. They grow up so fast. Jim

[Ralph Tomaccio]

Thanks to everyone who responded to my post. I ended up going to WalMart and buying him an inexpensive spinning rod outfit - the Shakespear Ugly Stick - and some PowerBait. He was so excited, he put the hook in the water before I had a chance to put some PowerBait on it and within seconds caught a fish. We started off at Whalom Pond and fished off a dock, catching three fish there.

Later, we went to a little spot I know on the Squannacook in Townsend and, although he didn't catch anything, he came close to getting a nice brown I saw chasing his lure. I estimated it at around 15". Fortunately, he saw it too, which was exciting. While there, a nice size turtle came swimming down stream just a few feet next to us. He found that cool as well.

Here's one of him with his fish:
Attachment 5115

[Dblackman]

Ugly Sticks are good gear, I have expensive rods and cheap rods, and and ugly stick, I probably fish the ugly stick as much as my high dollar ultra light spinning rod.
David