Teaching Children To Fish Is Good For All...

Summer holidays are perfect for parents to introduce their kids to fishing. It is one of the best ways to bond with your children, as long as your heart is in the right place. The experience of catching a first fish is more memorable than a computer game score. Years later, the youthful anglers will remember who they were with on the day they trapped their first fish.

Schooling children how to fish can be a great challenge for both parent and child. For some parents, the biggest challenge may be convincing their children that, unlike computers, fish do not react to an on/off switch.

Two must follow rules apply when fishing with kids - always keep it safe and keep it simple. Remember you cannot teach a youth everything. Some areas of fishing, such as tying a knot, need more than basic determination - there is also a little something called co-ordination.

Do not start out by trying to teach your child how to bait a hook. On the positive side, there is casting. It�s fun and keeps kids entertained. This means spinning should not be passed over as an option.

Locality has its share of importance in terms of results and safety. If you're going to be around the coast, I recommend you locate an estuary. If you�'re inland, go for a lake. These waters are by and large somewhat safe, offer straightforward access and on some you will discover fishing platforms.

Estuaries are the breeding ground for many types of fish and the majority of the time you can count on catching mullet and salmon, sometimes garfish, trevally or bream. In lakes, the species you catch will depend on wherever you are. It could be trout, redfin or maybe yellowbelly.

Fishing Tackle

There aren't many issues to worry about with tackle requirements for kids. �Combo� outfits take the anxiety out of decision making and contain all you require. A high-quality estuary or lake combo unit is about 3kg and comprises a matched fishing rod and reel (usually spooled with line), a selection of little sinkers, split shot, swivels, a couple of quill floats and hooks from No. 8 through to about No. 4.

Rigs

Fishing with baits generally use three basic rigs - the paternoster, running sinker and float.

Bait Made Easy

Bait that occurs naturally in the environment you're fishing in is always the best to use. In freshwater, mudeyes, minnows and scrubworms suit trout, but for local fish such as yellowbelly and Murray cod, shrimp, bardi grubs and yabbies cover nearly all situations. In saltwater, sandworms, bass yabbies, mussels, pipis, pilchards and squid will be enough for most species.