Nurture Your Young Anglers
by Mike Conner, Editor-in-Chief
This morning as I read over the final proof for our first issue's GENERATIONS column--in which Kenny Wright offers his insightful tips for teaching kids to love fishing--my recent trip to the local WalMart fishing department came to mind. First of all, I always advocate giving your local tackle shop your business, but when my favorite shops don't carry something I desperately need, well, Wally World gets the sale.
While there, I came across parents and a boy of about 12 going through the rack rod spinning combos with puzzled looks. And dad gazed over the wall of lures while rubbing his chin. I gathered a few items, and as I walked by, the mom asked if the rod-and-reel their boy was holding could "catch a snook." It was a budget 12-pound outfit, spooled with what looked like 15-pound-test mono. I grabbed it, and told them it certainly would, but they would need to tie on a bite leader of 30-pound test at the least. And that just got me blank stares.
"Have you ever fished for or caught a snook?" I asked. They had not, and in fact, had little fishing knowledge, but said they witnessed an angler land a big snook at the beach that very morning while they looked for seashells, and their son badly wanted to do the same. "It fought like crazy!" the boy gushed.
They had no way of catching live bait, had never fished with lures, so I gave a short clinic right then and there, but what they needed was hands-on instruction. Dad told me they could not afford a boat guide, or expensive equipment, but wanted my help to pick out one or two good snook lures, and advice on how to "reel" them. I explained that to him, then suggested they go down the street to a particular tackle shop (and buy the test of mono leader that WalMart was actually out of) and ask my good friend behind the counter to show them a good knot to tie on a leader, and one to tie on the jig, spoon and plug that I picked out for them. They were happy, thanked me and prepared to head for the check-out. As they did, I told them that even if the snook did not bite, they might catch a jack, ladyfish or a bluefish, and the boy turned to me, smiled broadly and said, "I only want to catch one of those snooks!"
And his attitude is understandable, having witnessed a great catch, but I can only hope that he caught any fish at all, because he would certainly enjoy those as well. I am fortunate that my dad fished and brought me into fishing gradually, starting with bream and bass, and in time, saltwater species. Like the boy at WalMart, many kids have parents that do not fish at all, so they have to get "the bug" somewhere else.
Fishing Parents: The first "Generations" column, "Eyes Wide Open," is one you should read. Compare notes with Kenny Wright. He's a dad raising three young anglers.
Non-fishing Parents: Inquire about kids' fishing programs at local tackle shops or online.
Well, in the case of snook, it is closed season now through the summer in Florida, and catch-and-release should be practiced with every effort to not rip some lips. A good start would be to avoid using treble hooks for fish you plan to, or must, release. You can still use that favorite lure that comes stock with trebles. I would suggest: replacing the trebles with single hooks. Or, at the least clip off one of the three "legs" of that treble, and then crimp down the barbs on the remaining hooks. Leave a bump; you will be surprised to see how well the hooks will hold in a fish's mouth (see photo for examples). Or you might just fish a single hook lure, like a soft plastic or spoon. 