Kids need to have fun, and a lot of times an adult’s idea of fun is not the same as a child's. You don’t need to take a child to Canada for a week for them to have a good time with fishing, start out with an hour or two at a local lake like the Mitchell Ave. sand pits or a short weekend camping trip to Casey Lake in Hickory Hills Park or George Wyth Park. These small nearby lakes offer some great fishing but more importantly are loaded with sunfish. 

It seems like in the summertime that just about every piece of shoreline cover is loaded with these little sunfish. I love to bass fish but the bass are not always so cooperative. When my son Alex was younger and the bass were not biting fast enough to keep him interested I would pull out a spinning rod rigged with a small jig like a Ballsy; these little baits always seem to catch something. 

Again kids need to have fun! Catching a 3-inch bluegill is not real high on my list of fun things to do, but to a young child watching that bobber go down will seem almost magical. Keep it small and simple - a bobber, sinker and a small jig (Rock Hopper, Ballsy ect.) or just a plain hook for bait like a wax worm. This is the perfect set-up to catch some sunfish. 

If you're in a boat and they get bored or a little antsy then let them out on shore. Kids can burn off some steam by catching grasshoppers or crickets and use them as bait. I use to love to do this when I was young. 

There are lots of different ways to make fishing fun and interesting to a child and that doesn’t always mean catching the biggest or the most fish, and that definitely doesn’t mean making them stay all day. Fish for awhile then take a hike around the lake and look for wildlife, skip some rocks, catch a frog or whatever it takes to keep their interest. I would ask Alex if he wanted to go fishing if he said no then we didn’t go. You can’t force a child to like fishing but you can show them how much fun it can be. 

Yes, it did seem like a harder task to get my son interested in the outdoors than it was for my parents with me. My parents only had to compete against video ping pong - not X-Box, Play Station and the Internet! 

Keep it safe, simple and fun and your kids will learn to enjoy the great outdoors. If you'd like more help getting a child interested in the great outdoors please contact me at Cedar Valley Saver 122 Black Hawk RD Waterloo 50701 or by E-Mail @ cvsaver.com Until next time keep your lure wet.