Articles in the Category Fishing With Kids

Lessons from the Salt (2022) — Strike Zones, Sensitivity and Persistence

The churning waves, the cuts, troughs and sandbars of beach water mimic the flows of a good river that is full of structure. And tearing apart the differences to find the similarities between the two water systems is a challenge that’s renewed with each trip to the salt . . .

Choosing Fishing Gear for Kids — Waders, Boot, Rods and More

Honestly, getting a kid on the river is the important part. And the gear is incidental to the experience. But I’ve done this long enough to know that a few selected gear items can make all the difference. And I’ve seen my kids take amazing strides in their fishing and simple enjoyment with a better pair of boots, a more suitable rod, or a new pair of gloves . . .

Podcast Ep 10: Reading of “The Kid” — With Special Guests Joey and Aiden

The kid was ten years old and small for his age, but his legs were strong and he waded without fear. He fished hard. We shared a passion and a singular focus, so I enjoyed having him on the water. He stood just tall enough not to lose him in a field of goldenrod, and he weighed less than the family dog. But like the shepherd, he was sturdy, tough and determined, with unwavering perseverance keeping him focused during the inevitable slow days with a fly rod. . . . He only talked of fishing.

Fishing With Kids — The Independence Marker

At thirteen years old, he has enough experience with the woods and water that I don’t think twice about dropping him off to fish for the evening, awaiting his call when he’s either fished out or it’s getting dark. When I pick him up, he’s full of excitement and stories, or he is calm and peaceful in a way that I don’t often see him. I let him be, in those times, and allow the experience for him to soak in, as he processes a return to the world after a long outing. Leaving the water to rejoin life is sometimes a hard turn.

Kids soak in the rhythms of nature. And later in life, maybe around twelve years old, that base of experience pays off . . .

Fishing With Kids — “Born to fish big”

Sep 12, 2018 | Fishing With Kids, History, Stories

Parenting is mostly guessing and then hoping you were right. My design all along has been to get the boys beside a river as often as possible.

Will they be fly fishermen at fifty? Will they take on fishing as a way of life? Will they need it as something to help them through difficult times? I don’t know. But I’m giving them that chance.

Joey waded through a knee-deep riffle, toward a bank side boulder that he’d never reached before. We’d fished for two hours with the fish count as zero as the skies unloaded a hard rain into the river. I waited underneath the half-shelter of a large sycamore and watched my son from twenty feet away . . .

Legendary

Aug 29, 2018 | Fishing With Kids, History, Stories

When the line snapped, the sound shrieked through the damp air and scattered somewhere behind me, leaving behind the only evidence — a quivering rod tip and the bewilderment of my expression.

A Fish Out of Fresh Water

Aug 14, 2018 | Fishing With Kids, Stories

I’d been to LBI at least a dozen times but never cast a line into the salt. Sure, I found the prospect of hauling fish from the surf intriguing, but I suppose I’d always stopped at the reality checkpoint — I live five hours from the ocean, so how often can I really fish water with tides? And while most people enjoy dabbling in things once in awhile, that approach is really not my bag. A short run with something leaves too many questions wandering around and bumping against each other in my brain. And without returning for a follow up experience, the questions remain frustratingly unanswered. I’m a researcher at heart, and I want those answers.

But my two boys are old enough now to be researchers themselves. And once they knew we were traveling to LBI, New Jersey for vacation, they looked into where to fish, what to fish and how to catch the biggest fish in the sea.

We were casting bobbers into a pond with spinning tackle when Aiden first brought it up back in June.

“Hey Dad, when we’re at the beach, we have to buy squid and bunker. We need bigger hooks too, because these ones are too small.”

I perked up and turned toward the small raspy voice of my seven year old son.

Even When it Rains

Jul 25, 2018 | Fishing With Kids, Stories

Sure, some guys say you’ll catch the river beast only in high water. And most general trout fishing books contain a section that puts a positive spin on high water, detailing tactics that are sure to fool trout even with a river in flood stage.

I used to go out in such conditions because I believed that stuff. I thought once I brushed up on my muddy water techniques I would land the biggest trout in the river.

Boys and Dads

Nov 15, 2017 | Fishing With Kids, History, Stories

I opened my eyes to full daylight. And the first sound I heard was rain in the gutter behind the bedroom window. I’ve learned to gauge the amount of rainfall by the dripping sounds of water inside an aluminum tube. Without pulling the window blind, I understood that the storm was steady. Somehow, I also knew it would continue all day.

Down the hall and on my way to the coffee pot, my nine year old son caught up to me, and with his characteristic excitement for everything in life, he asked, “Dad, can we fish today?”

I have a self-imposed rule for parenting. There are three things I always say yes to: baseball, music and fishing. When either of my boys wants to throw a ball, strum a guitar or sling a fly rod, I do everything I can to make that happen . . .

Just Boys Fishin’

Sep 25, 2015 | Fishing With Kids, Stories | 1 Comment

Gonna let the pictures tell most of the story today. We've been enjoying the cooler weather in the last month or so, and the boys have been putting a twelve foot Tenkara rod to good use. My parents bought the rod for the boys' birthdays, and the length of the rod,...

The Boys of Summer

Jun 19, 2015 | Fishing With Kids, Stories | 5 Comments

These fishing environments, and the goals and obsessions that come with trout fishing, are good for me. And I think they are good for my boys too. . . . So, while I’m becoming an expert in patching bicycle tires and skinned knees, the boys are learning how to catch wild brown trout. It’s all possible now. This is the summer I’ve been waiting for . . .

Aiden’s First Brown Trout

May 12, 2015 | Fishing With Kids, Stories | 22 Comments

Hundreds of times Aiden has snagged the bottom, pulled the rod back, and either asked me if that was a fish or has told me flatly, “I think that was a fish.” This time, he finally experienced the certainty that a couple of good head shakes from a trout will give you . . .

Spring Camp 2015

May 5, 2015 | Fishing With Kids, Stories | 0 Comments

The fishing brings us together. If our annual spring trip to the mountain wasn't planned, what chance is there that my dad, my uncle, my two sons and I would all end up in the woods together for four days? None. These trips provide us the reason to make time for one...

Gear – Kids In Waders

Dec 11, 2014 | Fishing With Kids, Stories | 1 Comment

Took Aiden fishing today. No, it's really not too cold if you dress for it. For my youngest son, that means three pair of socks, three pants, two heavy shirts, winter coat, hat, and waterproof mittens. Sure, it takes about fifteen minutes to get dressed, but then I...