Jul 21, 2018 5 min read

“It’s just like managing a can of worms,” I yelled across the water.

Poor Kathy. She had volunteered to teach these 2 great grandchildren of mine – 9-year-old Aidan and 6-year-old Connor, her son Doug’s kids – how to fish. Doug you might remember is my grandson and a college professor in Oregon and had flown in to visit the old homestead. Taking the two boys fishing just seemed like a good way to bond with them so there we were, working the water of a private pond near my home.

The reason for the private pond was in order to keep any youngster’s interest in fishing, the young lad or lass needs to catch fish. I usually use this line when talking about fishing with kids: ‘Think Bluegill not Muskie.’ Youngsters don’t care if the fish on the end of their line weighs 8 ounces or nine pounds, as long as it’s a fish.

All that is really needed to catch fish in a farm pond is a light rod and reel and a can of worms. One of the larger decisions that needs to be made when fishing most ponds is what size hook should be used. If the goal is a mess of Bluegill, look at the size of its mouth. Small, isn’t it? Bluegills have such a small mouth that even a size 6 hook hardly can be put in one. So if one is fishing for Bluegill or any other small pan fish, the angler needs a smaller hook, maybe a size 10.

On the other side of the coin, look at the mouth of a Largemouth Bass. You can shove a softball down one’s throat easily so a larger size hook should be used. I think a size 4 for starters would be about right. I like to have all my hooks on and poles rigged when teaching kids. They want things to happen right now and standing around waiting is no fun.

With the two young boys jumping around it’s a miracle the old man could ever get ready. Kathy volunteered to help a position she might have regretted later as she was stuck with the job of baiting poles and removing all fish at first. Neither of us wanted to see a flopping fish bury a hook in someone’s hand so we tried not to allow the youngsters to handle the fish that still had a hook in them.

If you read my column often, you might remember we did the first lesson some three years ago with all four of my grandkids. They were really young then and we had to cast and reel a lot for them. This year showed great improvement. Both boys were quick learners and after a few how tos, they both could cast with ease. They also learned how to put a night crawler on a hook and properly use a rubber worm. I like those smelly purple Gulp brand. At first when teaching young kids, these really help as you move them a lot. This helps teach them to reel and cast. Soon, they required little help.

After they could cast and bait a hook, there was less to do and I tried to explain to them how a bass likes to lie in wait for a meal. Usually, this is done with the benefit of some sort of cover. Even the dock we were fishing on provides cover and there is almost always a fish under a dock. I told them to fish close to any downed tree lying in the water. It’s hard to believe but there I was explaining to two boys under the age of 10 about underwater structure. They absorbed this information like sponges and I am sure if they stay with it, they will become the best of anglers because they were hooking and landing bass after bass.

A good farm pond is a wonderful place to take youngsters. Most ponds hold a good population of fish. This helps and most ponds are relatively shallow near the shore. Also, there are other things to see at a farm pond and it is a good place to talk about conservation. If you look closely, you will see and hear bullfrogs. An occasional snake might plop into the water but since very few are poisonous, here it is very safe and just exciting for them to see. Butterflies, dragonflies and blackberries are abundant now. We saw a muskrat and some deer. So you see, it is a good time to take a kid fishing.

A youngster, rod and reel and go see Joe Smith on Brownlee Road in Eighty Four for some worms. Then find a good farm pond and ask permission from the pond owner and teach those kids to keep it clean so they can go back. I will always be grateful to my pond owner for allowing us to make those two into fishermen on our fine summer fishing trip. Finally, take pictures of those big smiles and whoops of joy you get from the young members of the crew while fishing.