fishing with my 3 year old son?

[liverlipsyyz]

hi. fantastic board here! i'm just a beginner and my question is: i'm going to the cottage next week (muskoka near gravenhurst) and i would like to fish with my three year old. he has one of those kids rods (spiderman) and he can actually cast a little bit, sometimes. my fear is putting a hook on it. is that dangerous? i heard they make some kind of special hook that kids can use but i have never seen one and i don't know how they could make something like that that would work. should i just ban him from casting and make him drop the hook straight in to the water? is it safe or should i just not allow him to fish? any other ideas for fishing with a 3 year old? i read somewhere to put a bobber on the line. any help would be greatly appreciated!

thanks,
liver

 

[David Kearney]

When I took my nephew fishing for his 1`st time he was about 3, he had a small rod, and we hooked it with a worm and a bobber, but he only wanted to dangle the worm just above the surface of the water to get the fish to come out of the water he would not put it in the water, funny stuff...now I would say use a small hook, and tip it with worm, place bobber 2 to 3 feet above hook, help him cast, or if he can`t manage, cast and hand him the rod, worms can generally bring in alotta small fish, and with a small hook on, he may land his first ever fish...take some pics. Make a report when you get back! Good luck.

 

[tangledline]

3 years old requires a life jacket by the water...only an arms reach away from you at all times...show him pictures of fish and teach him to identify or learn names like bass ..sunfish..perch..pike.....attention span will be limited
fish for 20 minutes then do something else then fish again 4 or 5 hours later for another 20 minutes....they gotta learn about hooks sometime...its easier now than later...keep explaining safety and he will learn over time.

 

[David Kearney]

good advice