My son is 7 right now. I let him play around in the yard with my fly rod over the weekend.
His birthday is in February so i am thinking that I might get him a starter rod and reel so he can use it next spring.
Is 7 or 8 too early? He wont be doing any dry fly fishing, mostly just nymphs and the wooly buggers he has already tied
How do you go about selecting a proper rod for a youngster? Just give him an 8’ or 8’6" 5 wt and let him grow into it or go with something like a 7’ 3wt or 4wt until he grows a bit?
I started my daughter and son around the same age as your son. We always started them with a dry fly because they loved watching the trout come and take the fly and it was easier for them to realize when to set the hook. As far as a rod and reel go with something that is pretty light because the kids arms will get tired quick and they will lose interest in fishing.
My daughter was 9 when see hooked her first salmon and the picture is still on my shelf above my desk. It’s a great experience for the kids.
My kids are older now, 23 & 18 and don’t fish because of other interests, but they know the basics and hopefuly someday they will get back into it.
my nephew(10)started the other day,and I’d recommend something lighter than a 5wght.He used my 3 wght and battled.It’s maybe not a good idea to go lighter than that so I’d say a 3 is about right.Be warned they tire easily!
Good luck and tight lines
Adam
My son is six and I got him a 7’6", 3 wt. He has done some casting in the yard and I plan to take him to a bluegill pond soon (weather permitting!). As long as they are interested, take 'em! But be prepared if he wants to knock off in a hurry and throw rock or catch frogs.
Hi Crotalus!
I started my two eldest daughters, now 11 & 14, fly-fishing a little over 6 years ago when they were 6 & 8 years old with the Cabela’s Fly-Fishing Combo’s-Youth Outfits for $75. This outfit came with a 7’6" 5 wt medium action and very forgiving flyrod, Cahill Reel, 5 wt floating flyline, backing, 4x tippet, rod case and Basic Fly fishing Book. I was very happy with the quality and durability of this outfit. This outfit now goes for under $100 but you get a rod/reel case and video. I think this outfit is on their Summer Sale List for $89. You can go to [url=http://www.cabelas.com:6f186]www.cabelas.com[/url:6f186] to find out. Another outfit that you should at least consider is the LL Bean Quest Outfits for $99.
With that said, my eldest daughter outgrew the above outfit four year ago. After she test cast many rods at 2 Fly Fishing Fairs she decided she liked the Sage 3 wt 8'6" DS2 Outfit and wanted one for her birthday in May. Luckily for me I won this very same outfit at my fly-fishing club's annual Christmas Banquet and it came with a Lifetime Warranty on the Flyrod too! Unfortunately, the Sage DS2 Outfit has been discontinued. The thought here is that you might want to look at the other ?beginners? rods that are on the market that are of higher quality. I gave her Cabela's Outfit to her youngest daughter, 4 1/2 & my last child. I started her out that summer. She is 7 now and loves to go flyfish/camping.
I'd like to also recommend you read either Fly-Fishing with Children: A guide for Parents by Phil Brunquell MD or First Cast: Teaching Kids to Fly-Fish by Phil Genova. I've read both books before I started my daughters out and it helped me navigate through the pitfalls of teaching my children to fly fish.
On a personal note, when you finally do decide to take your son on his first fly fishing trip I'd recommend you do NOT bring your flyrod! You are his guide and it's his day. Make it as funs as HE wants and let him do whatever he wants within reason! When I took my daughters on their first couple fly-fishing trips I acted like a guide and they were my clients. I only helped them when they asked questions and wanted me too. They were on their own but within my eyesight. I only encouraged them and applauded when they did something right. After an hour or so they wanted to snack so we ate. Then they wanted to look for bugs under the rocks, throw rocks into a pool, go on a hike, take their socks off & play in the water and finally they wanted to go back and fish. At the end of a very splendid day when we started to drive home they told me they had a great time and wanted to know when we were going to go fishing again.
The more fun you make it for them, the more they'll love it and want to do it again. The more you take them the closer they become a fishing buddy. Just remember to have fun and keep it fun for your child too! Think of it as a legitimate excuse for you to become a kid again! *S I hope you have as good a time as I did with my daughters!
Four years ago, my eldest daughter and I went on our first father/daughter fishing trip over a weekend. It was fantastic as we fished together, C&R many fish, looked for Indian spearheads, took long walks together, went for a swim, went sightseeing and had the time of our lives! She still talks about those BIG BURGERS I cooked for us on the trip! We now look forward to our annual trips together but now I take all three of my daughters.
Sorry for the long dissertation! I just wanted to help you out on your new adventure of a lifetime! If you need any advice please ask! I'd be happy to help you out.
Thanks Joe (hehe my name too) that was some great info.
There is some more info i should have included - my son loves fishing, he is very patient (even more than me), he sits and holds his rod and watches his bobber while his little brother and sister play and dont pay attention.
I have seen the Cabelas outfits and a co-worker bought one for his son a couple years back. I looked earlier today on thier website but didnt see them and thought they might have discontinued them.
In my opinion buying one of those outfits is a no-brainer especially with the two younger ones following along behind.
I understand the “guide” part, especially with three kids. Even if i do get my rod in the water and get a bite i generally just hook the fish and let one of them reel it in. My oldest son has caught onto that though and wont take credit for catching a fish unless it is on his rod. “Dad, you caught it I only reeled it in”
Thanks for the tip on the books too.
Does anyone recommend casting lessons for youngsters? I am planning to take a couple for myself and taking him along to alteast watch. I am concerned that it will overwhelm him though.
I think the main thing is to teach them when they show an interest in it. My son was 13 or 14 when I first took him to the Ausable to ‘fly’ fish. He had fished with me since he was about 6 or so but with a Zebco push button spin rod and worms. We practiced in the yard a couple of nights before we left. He took to it a lot quicker than I had even with formal lessons… His first fish on a fly was a 17 inch Brown. He has not gone back to a spinning rod since and in fact told us to put it in a garage sale.Now at 28 and living in NYC he never misses our annual 3 day trip ti the Ausable the first Friday thru Sunday of June no matter how busy he is or where he is. 6 or 8 is pretty young and the danger is that they don’t catch anything and lose interest so panfish at that age is usually a good bet to break in with. I’ve seen a lot of parents force their kids into other sports when they really didn’t want to do it.
A quick story. I think maybe he was 15 and we were uo at the Ausable. It had poured and the river had risen fast. The rained stopped but the water was a foot and a half high. The sun came out and the skies cleared. The Ausable rises fast but goes down fast too because of the granite mountains and little flatlands. We hiked back to a water fall and Saturday drove up Whiteface mountain and enjoyed the great vista. We went to several fly shops, picked up a few things and chatted with the owners. We had great breakfasts and dinners at the Hungry Trout restaurant and listened to the tales of woe of others in the group who had braved the deep water and gone fishless. By Sunday the river was fishable and I told him that by noon everyone would probably be gone and we would have stretches of the river to ourselves and possibly the best fishing of the weekend. We ate early and got on the stream in the late afternoon and fished until dark . It was after nine pm when we broke down our rods and chatted about the half dozen fish we had each taken. By the time we got out of the high peaks and on the Northway headed south there wasn’t another car in sight. I drove a large GMC conversion van back then and he had the passenger seat back and was almost falling asleep while we listened to an audio tape of J.G’s book Trout Bum. I looked over at my sleepy eyed son and asked him of everything we did what he had liked best. “Just being there with you Dad” replied a sleepy contented voice that was way too tired not to be totaly honest.
I couldn’t speak for probably ten minutes . “Me too Rob” I finally said back to him with watery eyes and a choked up voice.
Thats what it’s all about my friends…
Yeah my son hit me with one of those moments this spring. We had just gotten out of the truck on the first day of trout season and were walking down stream to find a good looking spot. We hadnt even got to the water yet and he says “Dad, I love fishing with you”
We could have gone all day without a bite and that would have been my best day on the water ever.
I started fly fishing when I was 7 or 8. The rod size depends on how big he is, I would recommend a 9’ 5wt that is NOT a fast action rod. The reasons I would hesitate to go lighter is the fact that he will get more use out of the 5 down the road, and the slightly heavy rod is going to be a bit tougher… less likely to be broken. As long ad the kid is strong enough to do it, age isn’t much of an issue.
I was started young, and taught right, and because of this I can cast exceptionally well now. I’m 28 and have already been fly-fishing for 20 years… Starting young and right makes a big difference down the road… Think Tiger Woods…
