Took my three-year-old fishing for the first time today. He got way less than an hour in before he was ready to go, and walked away without catching one, but had a great time, just the two of us (Mom and everyone else sat way up on the bank and watched). All I can hope and pray for is that this won’t be the last time, and that, in a few years, I can put a fly rod in his hand and pass that on as well.
I can foresee his first post when he becomes a member here:
“I caught about 20, 17” smallmouths. Dad flailed around like an idiot for a couple of hours, mumbled something about how the moon wasn’t in the right phase, then sat down and organized his fly box."
Far more important than the amount of time that he fished is the fact that DAD took him.
Hold your head high…You have just intensified your relationship with your boy & that is priceless & lasts a lifetime.
Good for you!
Mike
nice thing about fishing and kids, you have them captive in the car for an hour or so for good conversations. you probably don’t need that now but in a few years it becomes priceless.
I thought about putting a fly rod in his hand at this age, but then I did some mental measurements. The smallest fly rod I have is 8’ even. He’s about 3’ even. I’m thinking the extra 5’ might throw him off a little. But I promise you he’ll have his own ASAP.
Seriously, though, kudos. Were it not for my own dad taking me fishing (and leaving when I had had enough, no matter how soon it was), I’d have never developed such a passion for the sport. My dad still never tires of recalling the first time he took me that we weren’t catching anything and he asked if I was ready to go and I said no because we hadn’t caught anything yet.
Take lots and lots of pictures and as Eric said, take advantage of the time. Throughout my teenage years, no matter what was going on in life, I knew that when we went fishing, the guy driving the truck was “a buddy” not “a parent”, and it resulted in some great conversations.
My two sons and I have great fun together on the river, but the drives to and from are priceless. My dad took me fishing and instilled the love of the sport, and I did the same for my two boys. You are carrying on an ageless tradition - not just fishing, but doing things together. Keep it up.
As far as a ‘good’ age for flyfishing…I built both of my sons rods when they were 7 and 9, but the attention span was very small, and dad’s patience was about as long. One thing I did do was start them out with a spinning rig using a clear bubble that could be filled about 3/4’s with water and then a tippet added and a fly (usually a Wooly Bugger or a Renagade) attached. They would chuck that thing out as far as they could throw it and usually they had action. Not real fly fishing, but it got them started using artificial flies and kept their interest longer.
As they grew older they picked up the fly rod and became adequate casters, but then school and sports and girls came along and it wasn’t until both were around 20 that they picked it back up again and now they are very passionate about it.
Of five boys, my dad was the ONLY one who did NOT fish! The summer when I was 4 1/2 years old we visited his older brother and family. My uncle, a physician, made a comment one day about fishing and I popped and and said that I would like to go fishing sometime (something about "from out of the mouths of babes!). My uncle asked dad if he had ever taken me fishing and dad truthfully replied “NO”. My uncle roundly chastised dad for this major omission; he had my Aunt, who was his receptionist, call all of his scheduled patients for the following day and cancel their appointments as he was taking the day off to take me fishing!! She did, he did, he and I did, and I caught my very first fish! A huge bluegill, at least to me it was huge! A memory so indelibly burned into my brain that I can see that first fish as clearly as if it were yesterday that I caught it. This all happened in the summer of 1941!
I made it a point to teach five of my six boys to both hunt and fish ( we had one who was the typical “bookworm” and shied away from all kinds of outdoor activities). I still have two of my eleven grandchildren to go. One is just now old enough to teach the finer aspects of ‘living’ to. One is still a couple of years away from being at that point. I hope and pray that I live long enough to also teach her! Gotta’ make it eleven of eleven!
My oldest, a granddaughter, caught her very first fish at 5 1/2 years of age on a dry fly! I have had the fly and a picture of her holding that fish up, while still on the hook, shadow-box mounted for her. That monster 'gill was every bit of 3/12 inches long, but it was a whopper to the both of us!
There is no greater thrill than to have a grandchild you have taught to fish to ask: “Opa”, will you take me fishing?
As Breamchaser says, those times with your children grow away far too fast, but there is the next generation to look forward to, and, at least for me, teaching my grandchildren to fish has been even more rewarding than teaching the boys. There is just something SPECIAL about grandchildren! They are our rewards for not having killed our kids when we really wanted to!!
I had both my boys fishing at about 3 1/2. They had the ‘snoopy rod’ with a casting bubble and a foam spider. Boy the giggles as they would reel in the bluegill. That’s the ticket - bluegill and kids.
Both boys are grown now (one graduates college in 2 weeks, other still in college).
We went fishing together on Good Friday. Son #2 drove. We talked, giggled, swapped fish stories and talked about the summer float we’re planning. It doesn’t matter how old they are, when we’re together fishing, it’s just "wonderful time’.
This past weekend I was cleaning out my fly closet when I found the little 4 foot rod I built for #2 when he was 5 years old. I made it from an UL spin rod I bought at WalMart for $10 and stripped it of it’s spin components. I matched it with a very light graphite reel and it wasn’t too big or too heavy for him to cast. He figured it out pretty quickly and could roll cast to the 'gill with ease.
You’re making memories for both you and your son, I know mine are very precious. Now I wait patiently for two DIL who will fish and then for grandkids to teach.
But I promise you he’ll have his own ASAP.
