Tristen Goes Fishing
I took my girlfriends three year old son, Tristen, fishing this week. As many of you know it has been dreadfully hot these past few weeks in Kansas so after giving him his brand new Spiderman fishing pole and his own tacklebox, we packed up mid morning and headed to a local Lawrence pond to fish for an hour or so before the heat hit. He was very excited about his fishing pole and could not wait to catch fish.
I set him up with a basic bobber and hook rig, with one alteration, instead of using a standard straight shaft or Aberdeen style hook I used long shanked circle hooks. I have not fished with bobbers for years but one of the main things that turned me off from it initially was the tendency for the fish to swallow the entire hook and severely injure itself. As someone who practices 100% catch and release this was not acceptable for me. I am happy to report that the circle hook fixed this problem entirely, with no deep hooks or injured fish. For those interested I was using Mustad Circle Streamer Size 8 hooks, model # C71S SS.
Tristen caught two Bluegill, I believe his first fish ever but I will have to confirm this with his mother. Regardless he was very excited. He picked up casting very quickly and was easily able to cast beyond 50 feet. Further he was patient and attentive at waiting for the bobber to go under and then reeled the fish in perfectly, well after I adjusted his drag properly. Honestly, the only guidance I had to provide was that if a turtle approached the bait we needed to reel it it quickly to avoid catching the turtle. His response for the rest of the morning every time he saw a turtle was, "Bad Turtle, Stay Away" it was pretty cute.
Personally, I had a blast. I love fishing and it is one of my greatest passions. To be able to take someone young and teach them about fishing and further for them to have a successful day was beyond words. I cannot wait to take him out again. I know there are some 4 lb Bass lurking in that pond, how exciting would that be!
Tristen's First Bluegill.
Number two. He wouldn't hold the fish and the best he would do is touch it's tail. Something to work on I guess.
4 Comments:
He'll remember that first fish for a lifetime and I'm sure you'll remember the smile on his face when he caught it!!
That is admirable of you! My boys are grown but avid fly fishermen Not at three though! That circle hook was a great idea with bait, I'll remember that!
Gregg
Yeah even as a kid I disliked bait fishing due to the injury caused to the fish, I was very happy with how the circle hook performed.
Here's a huge "AAAAAWWWWWWWWWW!!!" that I usually reserve for puppy porn.
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