Having a new grandson, (who's now 8 yrs old) has brought back a lot of memories of just how difficult it can be to do it right, an make it enjoyable for any little guy or girl. Most of the gear that is sold these days doesn't fit little people very well and it can be very frustrating for the child to use what you expect him or her to and handle it with a fish pulling back on the other end of the line at the same time.

So here are a few tips that I learned from teaching my son, my daughter and now my grandson, to make this process easier for you and the youngster that you are trying to teach. In my opinion, a child is never too young to begin learning how to fish. I started all my kids at two years old. As long as they are old enough to understand what you're saying and follow simple instructions they can do it. You'd be amazed at what a young person can comprehend, even at two, if given the chance. What it does take is your own time and patience and giving up your own fishing time to make it happen so that it will last a lifetime.

First, don't do long trips. The surest way to discourage a kid from fishing is forcing him to stay long hours on the water or at the water's edge on shore and getting bored. Keep the trip short, interesting, and above all, FUN!

Second, and I see adults doing this all the time with kids, don't expect him or her to land the biggest fish in the sea or pond the very first time you take them out. They are going to make mistakes and a lot of them. Praise them for the they they do right. EXPLAIN CALMLY, the things they have done wrong. They will listen and they will remember. If you establish a mid set that yelling and screaming go hand and hand with going fishing, they will look else where for their entertainment as they get older.

I was very fortunate with both my son and my daughter. Both loved to fish and at a early age. But, it took an awful lot of time and patience to accomplish that goal. Along the way it even cost me a few fishing buddies who didn't like seeing me dragging them along. They felt that the kids cut into our fishing time as well as where we could go. Today, most of them are gone and my son, daughter, and now my grandson fish with me all the time. My son now guides in my business with me as well. I believe I was the one who did it right the first time around.

My friends now are much different. They are tolerant of my obsession in teaching my grandson how to fish. They couldn't believe what he could do a 4-years old, and are simply amazed at what he can now do at eight. He can cast, both spinning and casting tackle, work a lure, fish the bottom, and can even fly cast. If you are serious in having your son or daughter learning how to fish and stick with it over the long haul, then you have to commit yourself to that goal and only that goal early on while they are young.

Another thing I did was to make them some of their own tackle. By that I mean, most of the rods sold today are much too big for little people. The butts are too long and in some cases the rods are too heavy for their small arms to handle comfortably. The way around that is to buy an inexpensive rod or find a good used rod at a flea market and cut the butt section to fit him properly. If you take the time to look around and find the right size and action for whatever type of fishing you are going to do, it can be done. It's a lot easier to find freshwater rods for this than it is to find saltwater rods. For saltwater outfits I've taken an old rod I had and totally re-did it from top to bottom so it fit correctly for my grandson. Actually, he inherited his father's rod that I had did for him and his sister. That's three generations out of ONE rod. This will up their confidence immensely not having to stick that long butt between their legs, under their arms or other not so comfortable areas. It also gives them the feeling like they are equal to mom or dad when fishing with them and watching them use their equipment.

Make sure the equipment is suited and matched to their ability and size to make handling it easier. I've seen guys handing six-year-olds Penn 4/0 Senators with wire line on it. Do you have any idea of how heavy that tackle is? This is a sure way to turn them off to fishing. Remember, today you are competing with virtual reality games, computers, wild music, and a world that you and I never dreamed possible. There are so many distractions out there that we couldn't possibly list them all for them to latch on to besides fishing.

Start them out on simple and easy species of fish. Bluegills, yellow perch, trout on opening day, horn pout, pickerel and other readily available species. When they are ready to go saltwater fishing take them for porgy's, snapper blues, flounder and bluefish which are much easier to catch than striped bass. CATCHING   is the key to success. Not the biggest, not what you catch, but what they catch. That is what they will remember and want more of. Fish peak times when the fish are plentiful and above all fish when the weather is good.

Have lots to eat and drink with you. Kids get hungry and thirsty quickly. When they get antsy or distracted, all them to investigate whatever is it that has taken their attention away from fishing. All my kids spent a lot of time chasing and catching frogs, crayfish, bugs, crabs, or whatever. They always wanted to go back and do it again. Why? Because its interesting and fun. They might get wet or muddy. So what? Make sure you have a change of cloths with you just in case. Kids do dry off quickly, especially in nice weather. Some of my best memories as a child fish with my father, grandfather and uncles are of the days I fell in the water, or went too far over my hip boots, or got bit by a crab I tried to grab and thousands of other things. I remember those more than the fish that I caught even to this day. Fishing is partly building memories of good times spent with whomever it is you are fishing with. That is what will keep your child coming back for more. Building memories.

If you fish from a boat, purchase a small gimbal belt to help hold the rod. Remove the nut and bolt that goes through it and you have a nice cup to hold the butt of any rod. That way the pressure of the rod is inside the cup and on the plastic and not in their stomach. Small belts of this type are very cheap. Tsunami makes one that is less than ten bucks. What an investment for their comfort.

I have both spinning and casting outfits for my grandson to use and to practice with so he can get used to using both with confidence. Catching fish is not about how big or how strong you are or even how much your tackle costs, but how effectively you teach them to use their equipment and gear. Small children can land some pretty big fish if given the right tools to do the job and the proper learning experiences as well.

We often don't give our children enough credit for how intelligent they really are and how easy it is for them to learn quickly. Their young minds are like sponges, soaking up everything that comes their way both positive and negative. I used to think my kids were way ahead of me when they were young. I'd think, "Gee, I didn't do that until I was about ten or twelve years old and they are doing it at five or six." Today, my grandson show me how to go from one computer program the the next with little or no difficultly, sends text messages on his mother's phone as well as pictures, (a phone I have a hard time simply answering) and has a logic that is scary at times. They are smart.

Don't miss out on what can be the best thing that you could give your son or daughter, the love of the outdoors and the sport of fishing. Take the time, have the patience and the will to make it happen. Most of the kids I grew up with who learned how to fish and to love it, never got into trouble along the way. They were too busy trying to catch a fish and become better at it. We all come this way only once. We can leave something good behind. Remember the saying, "this world and its natural beauty is not ours to do with as we like, we are merely borrowing it from our children."  Teach them to love fishing, so they can teach their kids as well.

Captain Jim White/ White Ghost Charters.

Captain Jim White