My boys have discovered fishing.  I don’t know what got them interested but they kept asking me to take them fishing.  I haven’t fished in over twenty years and the thought of putting live bait on a hook made my skin crawl but they really wanted to go.  So we headed to the store and we were pleasantly surprised when we found children’s rods in a kit.  For about $30 for each child we purchased a fishing kit which included a child size rod with line, hooks, sinkers, lures and more. We also purchased a tackle box to put all their accessories in. I was also very happy to find fake worms and grubs in this kit because there is no way I’m going to stick live ones on a hook (I didn’t mind it when I was a kid but I do now).

If you take your kids fishing make sure to find out what the fishing regulations are for where you live.  I live in Ontario, Canada and a Canadian resident needs an Outdoors Card to fish in Ontario if they are at least 18 years old but have not reached their 65th birthday.  If you are under 18 you must carry a valid birth certificate with you. For more information go to Fish Ontario.

Now just being me I over think and analyze everything and started to stress. I need to know everything like what bait do you need to catch what and do we have the right size line and sinkers and on, and on, and on… So to put my mind at ease I found some great websites and booklets.  If you go to CatchFishing.com they offer tips and resources and a wonderful booklet to get started fishing with your kids. Another website is the Youth Fishing section from the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and they also have a booklet Take a Kid Fishing.

I also have a couple videos that remind me not to over think and just enjoy: