Teach Kids to Fish. Fishing is fun.

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Teaching kids to fish can be tricky. The first time you take a kid fishing and don't have fun, will probably be their last time fishing.

Fishing is a lot of fun. Just getting out side and hanging around by the lake will be some of your fondest memories. It is my favorite hobby. Knowing how to fish really didn't prepare me to teach my kids how to fish. One kid would need bait and the other kid would have a fish which meant I wouldn't be able to watch them both at the same time. I wanted to relax and have more fun. Then it dawned on me how many parents are going to have a terrible time since they really don't know what they are getting into. Over the last 3 years I have developed a system to help parents teach their kids to fish. I think of it as "Training Wheels for Fishing" for both the kids and the parents. The EasyRelease Fishing Starter Kit system is now being used by some elementary schools, and State Fishing Education coordinators are incorporating the "Training Hooks" into their programs.

I have posted the fighing guide which is part of the kit below.

Fishing is a great educational tool providing a great educational experiance which of course can be enjoyed for the rest of your lives.

Please check out the fishing guide below and please check out WWW.EASYRELEASEFISHING.COM

The EasyRelease Fishing Kit for Kids 

Getting started fishing - Educational tools for the parents

First, I have to say fishing with little kids really is like any other toy, they may only play with it for a few minutes. My kids used it as a way to get me to take them to the beach. That is OK. Just getting out of the house on a nice day is a good thing. The problem is many adults think of fishing as a toy and don't think of the details, like figuring out what they are doing before they get to the water with an excited child. What size hook should you be using? How do you tie a knot, cast the rod, take a fish off the hook? Do you really want to use worms?

If the parent/adult prepares themself, fishing will be a great educational experience that leads to great together time, great memories, and great fish tales since the fish get bigger as the stories are told.

The EasyRelease Fishing Kit for Kids makes it simple for adults teach kids to fish. If you haven't been fishing in years but now it is time to teach your kids to fish, what do you do?

How do we make learning to fish easy?

*Barbless Training Hooks: You don't just hand a kid a pin in the house. Why would you just hand them a hook? Kids start riding a bike using training wheels. We have Training Hooks. "Tip: bend the barb down on any hook with a pair of pliers to make it barbless"

*To complete the Training wheels for fishing we have a patent pending on the EasyBaiting tool with Hand Guard. Even young kids can safely bait their own hooks without hooking themselves using the EasyBaitingTool with Hand Guard. 3 Simple steps to bait a hook!! The EasyBaiting Tool works with almost any hook.

*For the parents, the EasyFishing Quick Fishing Guide is a 1 page, front and back set of instructions with color pictures to help adults teach their kids to fish, even if the adult has never gone fishing before. Pictures really are worth 1,000 words. "Tip: Practice yourself in the back yard before taking the kids fishing and you may need to hold the pole to hook the fish then give it to the kids to reel in."

*The EasyFishingBait works great!! It is all natural and doesn't smell bad like worms, and doesn't squirm. Good for Sunfish, Crappie, and Yellow Perch.

Kids fishing poles are really pretty sturdy. I fish for bass with these kids rods and have landed 3-5 pound bass. The state record catfish in NC was caught on a Barbee fishing pole.

We have taken the Training wheels off by adding the Ultimate Kids Fishing Kit with a packed tacklebox of over 100 assorted lures. This is for taking the "Training wheels off" since the hooks are barbed. It is a great value.

Please check out the fishing guide below and please check out WWW.EASYRELEASEFISHING.COM

What to fish for and where to fish and where to cast. 

Sunfish are great species of fish to learn to fish for. In many lakes, they are looking right at you when you walk to the water, or can be found in seconds by just throwing a line in the water. This is the right place to teach a kid how to fish since they like action. Bass fishing is great for kids who like to cast. Also, you may want to try night fishing for catfish just to get the kids out at night, bring lights and pliers.

Please keep in mind that where winter is cold, fish may head toward deeper water or be slow to eat. If the fish are not biting, make the fishing trip a casting and reeling game to entertain the kids. That can be fun all by it self. Heavy large lures seem like you have a fish when you reel them in. The adult can cast and the kids can reel in. The EasyFishingBait has been created to attract many types of fish, but in many lakes the sunfish will beat all other fish to the bait. Since most children have a short attention span, try to find a place where the Sunfish are everywhere so the action is good. We live in a lake community with grassy access points to different lakes. I prefer to stay away from the beach because the kids might actually pay attention to fishing instead of swimming or building sand castles in the beach area. Do not worry if you can only get the young kids to fish for a few minutes.

Also, bring some snacks and drinks to keep the kids happy.

Find Where to Go Fishing at "TAKE ME FISHING .ORG" Places to Fish

How to tie a fishing knot 

How to put a bobber on the line

Baiting the hook using the EasyBaiting Tool 

The tool gives kids time to learn to handle a hook.

Doing a side cast of the fishing line 

Teach the kids to look both ways before casting the line.

Catching a fish, Reeling the line, Dealing with tangled line 

Tricks to fishing

Taking the fish off the line. 

Barbless really help

Warning about fishing with kids 

Keep your eyes on the kids.

Some cautions I can think of include, Kids should always be supervised by a parent/guardian and keep your eyes on them ALWAYS. I have come close to drowning several times over my life time and water should always be respected. My advice is for Beginners is to avoid rivers because people can be swept away with the current. Docks are easy for kids to fall off of since they don't pay attention to what they are doing. My son Alan stepped off a dock and I was looking (yelling) right at him. You are asking to get whacked or worse if you try to learn to cast from a small boat. Using life jackets, and protecting your eyes with sunglasses may be overly cautious but anyone can be unlucky. Having a child whack you or themselves in the eye while they are casting might happen, but I haven't heard of it personally. When my brother was young, he somehow casted a lure backwards over a tree branch, hooked himself in the back of the head, got scared, dropped the pole, and then ran so the pole ended up in the tree. Imagine the poor kid. (Our hooks are Barbless so hook removal is easier) The casting instructions in the Kit are designed to avoid some of these issues but kids will be kids. Teach the kids to cast in an open space, using a side cast like a tennis swing is a good way to start. You can teach them to look both ways before casting. The bottom line is use your best judgment, and fish at your own risk.

Warning: Always Take the Hooks off the line after fishing 

Avoid damage to the pets, clothes, car interior.

Take the hook of the line after fishing to avoid hooking anything by accident. I have hooked the interior of the car, clothes, and when I was 6, my cat George went after MY lure like it was a toy. Poor cat. He lived, but try getting a barbed hook out of a cat. It was hard on the whole family.

Thank you for taking a look at my lense and www.easyreleasefishing.com.
Feel free to call me.

Happy Fishing.
Regards,
Tom Copeland
(201) 572-5997

You don't need to spend much money of fishing lures for kids. 

I just wanted to mention you don't have to spend a lot of money on lures. I used to have a pretty good box of hard body lures. Many of which cost $4-$8 each. Between my kids and my nephews losing them in the trees, my box was devistated. Rubber lures work great and are cheap compared to many other lures.

Once the kids know what they are doing, they can add to the selection but I pretty much stick with the cheap stuff.

The lost art of Paper airplanes and Paper footballs 

Nothing to do with fishing but both cute educational plays for the kids.

If I ever learn the tricks to properly making a Squidoo page I can finish this one with my short guide to fishing. I have to figure out how to load up pictures into the text. Anyway.

2 things you should teach your kids are to make paper airplanes and Paper footballs. These simple tasks are not as so simple. I was a cubscout den leader for a year and we practiced it every meeting before, or after a meeting. That is because they liked it but didn't really get a handle on it when I did it for a den meeting.

There has to be some very good lenses out there on the topic.

Reader Feedback 

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  • Reply
    TomCopeland TomCopeland Aug 10, 2009 @ 12:23 pm
    When you have some pictures, I will post them to the site if you like.[in reply to Mindy Scott]
  • Reply
    Mindy Scott Mindy Scott Aug 10, 2009 @ 11:12 am
    This page was very informative, I am taking my boys fishing today (for the first time ever!) I have been reviewing simple instructions on how to do this, as my past did not include adventure's such as this. The majority of the different sites mainly included tips for experienced fishers, so I was becoming somewhat disappointed, UNTIL I stumbled upon this one. Thank you this was very informative and full of encouragement and support which we all need, not too mention it was realistic and practical which I appreciate.
    I will report back on our experience and share how it turned out.
    Gone fishing~
  • Reply
    Global_B2B Global_B2B Jul 2, 2009 @ 11:33 am
    Welcome to the Childrens Toys Headquarters! Glad to have you in my group. You have a great lens here! I gave you 5*. Hope you'll reciprocate it on my B2C Marketing lens.
  • Reply
    David G. Atkinson David G. Atkinson Jun 12, 2009 @ 12:14 pm
    As the father of 6 kids, all of who have loved fishing with Dad and Grandpa at various stages in their live, I salute your efforts here.

    My advice for taking kids fishing is get the right attitute first. This is not the Guys out fishing trip, and its not called Catching, its called Fishing. Make it about the Fishing and the whole experience. Make sure kids are well fed, warm, have a place to go potty, and are constantly entertained. Make interesting conversation to them. Tell them stories of your youth, ask them about what is going on in their lives, school, scouts, sports, church, etc.

    About the actual fishing. Kids under 12 generally don't tie their own knots, and may or may not want to bait thier own hooks. Short attention spans limit their ability to detect a strike. Casting in crowded conditions should probably be done by an adult who can aim, unless you really enjoy untangling lines all day. Many areas offer kids-only fishing ponds.
  • Reply
    mgettoak mgettoak Jun 10, 2009 @ 8:08 am
    Great idea. I learned to fish from my Dad, and it has stuck to this day. I wouldn't trade those times and now those memories for anything. I wish there was a way to find a sponsor or two and promote this idea with organizations like Big Brothers and Big Sisters, as these kids could benefit so much from life-lessons learned hanging out at the waters edge casting your line out there with the hopes of catching something, and having the time to communicate with nature and an important adult in your life. I will enjoy keeping up with the site and your progress.
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by TomCopeland

Happily married with 2 kids. I have a finance degree from NorthEastern. Graduated 1990. Worked in banking for 10 years. Retrained to switched into the... (more)

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