The last post on Casting Across introduced three things I have done that have contributed to my boys’ interest in fly fishing. I recommend that you go check them out.
Today, I have three more ideas.
Truth be told, these aren’t just concepts for parents. Grandparents, uncles, aunts, neighbors, teachers, scout leaders, youth pastors – anyone who loves fly fishing themselves and wants to get a young person involved can take some deliberate steps to do so.
Here are ideas four through six for how to get your kid to love fly fishing:
Kids ask questions, you know stuff: answer your kids’ questions!
If you’ve ever found yourself in the endless “why?” vortex, you know that you’ll say just about any nonsensical thing to extricate yourself. Sometimes, a child is just being a pill when engaging you like this. However, there is a genuine level of curiosity in all children. Help them use their powers for good and guide them into fly fishing conversations. Talk about fish, rivers, bugs, flies, rods, waders, flowers, dams, pollution, laws, catch and release, herons, invasive species, seasons: the options are endless.
Adjust your vocabulary appropriately, but don’t shy away from topics like wild trout (“this kind of fish was here even before people!”) or Pebble Mine (“salmon and other animals need those rivers to have babies, and they can’t do that in a dirty river”).
Satiate their minds, and they’ll seek out more information. Soon, their kindergarten drawings and fourth grade science fair projects will be trout themed. That is how you know that you’ve hooked them.
Celebrate, praise, repeat.
If you aren’t taking pictures of your kids fishing, you’re doing it wrong. That blurry selfie with you and your child, catfish spinning wildly at the end of a dangling line, is the best moment you’ll capture all year.
I’m not an advocate of giving everyone a trophy, but I do make a big deal about every new species my boys catch. I celebrate it when one reels in a fish for the first time. Then when I cast, but they set the hook. Then, when they do it all by themselves. Every one of those moments has some sort of digital memory associated with it. We watch it together, I send it out to friends and family, and I’m sure it will be just as fun to look at in 20 years.
There are a lot of high-fives and congratulatory ice creams. Flies and lures that mark “big catches” go home and get put on display. It is a lot of fun for the kids, but it is a complete joy for me.
Do not force it.
Making a kid do something good but unnecessary with the attitude that it is necessary might make them see it as neither good nor necessary. That is to say: don’t force your kid to fish. They might be not be into it at six, but they might at nine. Or they might not be into it ever. Believe it or not, but some people just aren’t going to want to go fly fishing. And some of those people have parents that really want to go fly fishing.
But don’t ever let it be said that you were the reason. Parents can do that in a few ways. First, you could just impose your hobby on a child that isn’t ready or isn’t interested. Second, your fly fishing addiction could be perceived as taking mom or dad away too much. That isn’t just bad for passing angling on to the next generation, it is bad parenting.
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Love your kids. If your love fly fishing (with a different kind of love) share it with them. Make it organic, and don’t set unreasonable expectations. Demonstrate how it is a lot more than chasing your quarry, but that there is a whole culture that you get to be involved in. Teach them stewardship of creation, camaraderie with others, and what kind of adventures wait once you step outside.
Most of all, fish with them. When they go fly fishing they will have fun, but first and foremost they get to spend time with you. And that is what they will love.