Now’s the time to get kids hooked on fishing. Here’s how

We’ll remember 2020 as the year of the pandemic. Even after being pretty much homebound for the last few months, my one escape from all the madness is without a doubt is getting out on the water and fishing.

Luckily my kids are adults because so many of my friends that have young kids are totally stressed out trying to figure out things to do with antsy young uns so they aren’t glued to their dumb phones or computers.

Some of these parents complain that their kids are up on their computers until the wee hours of the morning and rarely get out of bed until the crack of noon. I feel fortunate that this addictive diversion hadn’t hit its peak when my two were growing up because it sure made it easier to roust them out of bed and do things, like getting out on the water so they might experience some of the fantastic acts of nature that I am privileged to witness nearly every time I head out on our spectacular creeks or lagoons.

I love kids and often think back and wish I had the resources to have a passel of kids. Hailing from a family with five children, I know it was quite a handful for my folks, but overall they did a pretty good job raising us, especially when they chucked their corporate careers at a fairly early age and moved us to a little-known island called Hilton Head. What a brave move!

For me at least, moving there shaped my life from that point on. With only a handful of kids on the island back then, nature, or more specifically fishing, became my best friend as well as my greatest teacher.

Exploring woods filled with deer, wild pigs, ducks, rattlesnakes and lots and lots of huge gators, I had to learn quickly how to navigate among so many creatures that could potentially kill a skinny little kid like me.

Even with all those threats, it was a great childhood that I wouldn’t trade for all the tea in China. Always in mind was the fact that there were no hospitals close by and, for that matter, even doctors. Should something serious happen, Savannah was the closest help.

As the area began to grow and with it my children, I found great comfort adopting children that belonged to friends of mine that had little or no interest in the great outdoors.

Among those was my niece Ali, my first cousin’s son Byron Sewell and at least two or three dozen other youngsters who yearned to be outdoors or learn the art of angling yet had no one to teach them tricks of the trade.

I can’t tell you how many parents have called me over the years begging me to take one of their kids fishing because they had no knowledge of the sport. Almost without exception, kids that I mentored have grown up to be avid anglers or simply outdoors lovers.

Teaching kids these passions of mine was a learning process for me. Patience is always the first lesson I try to impart along with training their young eyes to see. By that I mean always being aware of their surroundings because some of the most spectacular events in nature last mere seconds.

As for fishing, especially with very young kids, you can’t force them to become rabid anglers. With them, I have found that they might have more fun playing with the live shrimp in a bucket than sitting waiting for a bobber to disappear. Baby steps, it’s all about baby steps.

The best suggestion for first timers is to use small hooks, a tiny piece of shrimp and let them catch small fish like pinfish or croakers as fast as the bait goes down. As soon as they appear to be tiring, head on in or let them jump in the water.

As they become more experienced and a bit older, try to put them on a big fish. It is these trips that usually seal the deal, making them lifelong anglers.

The thing that many parents who have moved here from other parts of the country don’t know is that a boat isn’t necessary. Most brackish ponds or lagoons around these parts have monster redfish, trout, flounder, even tarpon living in them.

Even freshwater ponds have monster largemouth bass in them. In those, a watermelon-colored rubber worm with a small bullet weight pretty much guarantees a tug on the line.

So, until this pandemic has disappeared and you are stuck at home with your kids, take them fishing!

It will do a world of good for both of you. Promise!

This story was originally published July 12, 2020 at 9:45 AM with the headline "Now’s the time to get kids hooked on fishing. Here’s how."