Is it too soon to start

[NCVirginian]

With the Fly Fishing festival coming up in a few months, I'm thinking of taking my 4 yr old to check it out. They're offering a free casting class for kids and I'm wondering if he might too young for it. At what age did you all start your kids fly fishing? I definitely want to expose him to it and let him make his own decision, so I want his experiences to be good ones. Is trying to start him this early a bad idea? Living as close to a trout stream as we do, it might make for a good outlet for some of his energy.

So when did you start your children fly fishing. . .or fishing period?

[The Chronicler]

I would suggest that a 4 year old is a bit young to try fly fishing. I would suggest bait fishing as a first introduction to fishing. At 4 years old you have a few things going against you - unless you have a very advanced 4 year old - attention span and co-ordination. 4 year old don't process abstract concepts very well and the timing of the cast is somewhat of an abstract concept. Kids don't like to wait, and you have to wait on the backcast, and 4 year olds, [and even some big 4 year olds that are actually 20+] don't like to wait. I think your 4 year old will have a lot more fun with a worm and a closed face spinning reel, at least for a few more years.
Glad to see that you are eager to introduce him to fishing and I don't think that its ever too early for that.

Tight lines,
The Chronicler

[DG]

I started at 8 or 9, and would not have been able to do it any earlier, and didn't really get into it until I was 12 or 13, and in another 30 years have become competent. I really don't see a 4 year old having a lot of fun with it. I would wait until you hear, "Can I try that?".

[NCVirginian]

I would wait until you hear, "Can I try that?".

I've all ready heard that.

I figured it was probably too soon, but I thought that I'd at least try to get some other people's opinions before ruling it out.

[Greg H]

My kids started summers on lake in Ontario when they were 3 and newborn. I was just starting fly fishing at the same time. They had great fun with a closed-face spinning reel and worms (that I put on the hook). My youngest would actually have as much fun sitting in the bottom of the canoe playing with the worms as he did fishing. Fishing for even easily caught perch, the best game/challenge was, "Can you catch 4 fish when you are 4?", "Can you catch 5 fish when you are 5?". That about matched their attention span and also marked - for both of us - a time limit. Yes I heard, "Can I try that?" - but that's what they wanted -to try it, not do it. I agree that maybe about 10 it the right age because by that time they will not only have the muscles and understanding, but they will also be old enough to be left alone on the dock or river without your constant attention.
Good luck with it though, there is nothing better than fishing with your kid. My 4 year-old grandson did catch a perch this summer on spinning gear at the lake. He had a great time retrieving the lures, I did the casting.

[tailingloop]

When my wife and I were planning to have a family I started researching this top by talking to other parents who were anglers. I also found a couple of books on this topic including an excellent book by the late Phil Genova titled "First Cast: Teaching Kids to Fly-Fish". Mr. Genova was a fly fishing instructor at Cornell University and developed a Youth Fly Fishing and Environmental Education Program their. The book is still in print. The book contains a lot of basic fly fishing and tying instructional information, most of which you will probably already know, but is great for a parent and child learning together, with a lot of commentary oriented specifically towards then needs of children. As it turned out, we have not been blessed with children but the book has found its way in the hands several parents and helped them work with their children.

You can find a course curriculum based on the book here:
www.tu.org/atf/cf/{0D18ECB7-7347-445B-A38E-65B282BBBD8A}/curriculum.pdf

Early in the book he address the question "When to start" his answer:

"When they are ready, when their interest is piqued and you're not forcing them, then start with fly tying" [page 22 of the book]

He goes on to note that fly tying can be done any day, any time, regardless of weather. Some children can start learning to tie as early as age three. Starting with spin casting gear is addressed, even using flies tied by the child.

I know several parents who have started with 4-5 year olds by tying with their child in their lap

The youngest child that I know of who is able to make a relatively presentable and safe cast is 6yrs old but it seems that more seem to pick it up better if they are a bit older. My brother would sit in a boat with his 6 year old in his lap and make the cast and then they would both hold the rod. If a fish was hooked the child could reel it. Before the age of 6 that child wasn't interested in fishing. That child is now 10 and likes to fish but still prefers spincast gear as do his two youngest children. The youngest became interested at age 3 because he saw dad fishing with his oldest sibling. It seems that with most of the fly angling parents that I know, their children, if they were interested in fishing, really started to become interested in fly fishing around ages 10-14 with some younger, some older, and some not at all. The one thing I learned from my experience as a camp counselor for troubled children is that each child is different in their interests and maturity so there are not hard and fast rules.

[NCVirginian]

I know several parents who have started with 4-5 year olds by tying with their child in their lap

Thanks for the replies. I'm thinking we're going to try the 'Scooby Doo' rod first and see how much interest is there after that.

I will see how he likes tying though. That might be a good precursor to the actual fishing part.

[Bluegill222]

I don't think it's ever too early to expose a kid to fishing (fly or otherwise), but 4 is a little young to expect much in terms of results. The trick is to get them to the water, then let their interest build as their attention span does. 4 is a great age to get a kid interested in the buggier side-- watching for bugs, learning to identify them and so forth. That and throwing rocks in the water, but if you get them to the water as soon as possible, the rest will come. The most important thing though is not to force it.

[cycler68]

I think I started fishing at about age 4 when our parents decided me and my brothers were old enough to give it a try. I still remember the first fish I caught was a shiner on a worm. It wasn't long before we were bugging our dad to take us fishing at every chance we got. I think my dad was relieved when we finally got old enough so our parents would let us go down to the creek by ourselves.

[billhouk]

Took my 3 1/2 year old granddaughter to a local fly show. She loved it. We came home and she sat on my lap and tied flies with me. They had to be pink but, we tied flys. Got her a spinning rig for Christmas.