Fishing with kids can be difficult, frustrating and a real test of your patience. However, if you can successfully get your child or grandchild into the sport you will have a fishing buddy for life. I fished with my kids when they were all very young. In fact, my oldest was on the boat strapped into a car seat while I was jumping tarpon on fly. His career progressed from there and all my children developed a love of the water and the fishing lifestyle. Today, my children are 16, 20 and 22.
I invited Capt Scott Brown and his son Grayton from Hooked on Family on the show to talk about how someone might successfully get a young child into fishing. Grayton is 4 so Scott is much closer to the nuances of fishing with a 4 year old than I am.
Scott has a military background and brings some of that into fishing with kids. He suggests a P.A.C.E. plan to organize your fishing trip.
What is a P.A.C.E. plan?
P - Primary
A - Alternate
C - Contingency
E - Emergency
P = Primary is the ideal plan for the day. What are you going to do? If you have spent much time on the water, you probably know that that ideal plan doesn't always work out. Weather, someone could be in your spot, you could have misjudged the tide, or for whatever reason the fish may not be there today.
A = Alternate. It is important to have an alternate plan for all these reasons and be prepared for it. If someone is in your spot, do you have an alternate spot nearby? Would you use the same bait? If not, are you prepared with bait and tackle for this alternate spot?
C = Contingency. What happens when your child gets sick of fishing? How about the sandbar? Swimming or collecting sand dollars or shells.
E = Emergency. Always have a plan for an emergency. Where is the closest place to the road? What will you do if the weather turns bad? Do you have a First Aid Kit? What communication devices do you have? Radio, cell phone? Are these charged?
Scott also encourages managing your expectations and having fun as the top priority.
Fun is the top priority. I recall some stories of my kids just playing in the live well all day. Many parents have asked me about this. My response is always to let them play in the livewell. Are they having fun? If the answer is yes, then let them play!
You can check out the book that Tom mentions in the podcast here.
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