Wife fishing

[Susky River Rat]

My wife and I are going in a little get away this weekend. I am taking my boat to the near by little lake. I am trying to get my wife to fish a little. I have let her reel in bass a few times after I have hooked them. She enjoyed it. I want to start her off just bobber watching. She’s some what against it. More so the fact “ she doesn’t know how” I want to take the time to teach her so when she goes out on the boat it could be more enjoyable for her. She’s also not really the outdoors type but, cause on the boat because I enjoy doing it. Kind of like I watch her TV shows because she likes them.

 

Has anyone had any luck with doing this? Tips? Tricks? Or is it just a lost cause?

 

I also don’t care if she doesn’t ever get passed the bobber watching stage. I am completely fine with that. 

[Choporoz]

-Put her on fish

-Don't fret if she takes breaks to read or be on her phone.

-Be mindful of 'bathroom challenges' - that may mean keeping constant scan for places to get her on shore, or be willing to get back to ramp, or perhaps giving up a livewell when she's with you

-Start with short trips

-Put her on fish

-Teach her, but be extremely careful about suggesting she is doing something 'wrong' (I bit my tongue pretty hard when my wife tied on a buzzbait and fished it 4 feet below the surface...but then caught a good bass on second cast with it.)

 

I got lucky and my wife hooked up with a 3 pounder 30 minutes into her first outing about 12 years ago.  She was instantly hooked.

 

This weekend:

 

[gim]

I think bobber fishing for panfish is probably the way to go initially.  Sort of like taking a young kid with.  Their patience for action is going to be very minimal.  @Choporoz has good advice.  Make the trips short, make sure it isn't raining, windy, or cold out, and make sure you have a female option to use the restroom available.

 

If she's not really into it and doesn't want to go again, don't force it.

[TnRiver46]

My wife out fished me 4-0 on our first date so im no help here 

[Mobasser]

My wife has fished with me many times. Best advice I could give is get her casting over fish. Use some simple baits. My wife likes grubs, Beetlespins and similar things. Once she hooks up with a couple she will hopefully like fishing. Crappie are good when they're spawning, and they bite fast.

I'll also add that my wife picks out her own baits, pretty much based only on color. She's also out fished me in the past.

[Fishingmickey]

Teach her how to drive the boat, Got electronics? Get her involved in how you look for fish. Tie on a popper and find some willing bluegill and small bass to "blow up" her popper.  Whopper plopper? Pack a picnic lunch, maybe a bottle of wine and some finger foods. The restroom comments are spot on, shade golf umbrella? Spinning rod, weight less fluke. bucket of minnows and a school of Crappie.

Keep it light and fun!

Good luck,

FM

2 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

My wife out fished me 4-0 on our first date so im no help here 

First date, she out fished you, your now married. Big help.

[Scott804]

I started my girlfriend off with wading a small river. I know this stretch of river incredibly well and so I knew even on the worst days it would be possible to put her on one. Explained why a senko worked, why we were throwing it, & then the mechanics of making a cast and how to tell if there is a fish. She immediately hooked up with a decent little bass, although I realized I forgot to explain how to set the hook! But she did a great job fighting it and didn’t look like a typical beginner holding the rod in one position and slow reeling, she held it to the side and played the fish like she had seen me do before and just “kept the rod bent the whole time” like I had told her. I think this is partially because I said “Just pretend you know what you’re doing, there’s not many things you can do wrong.” and she did just that. She ended up catching a 15” smallmouth (which she really enjoyed the fight of) and later broke off a 5-6lb largemouth while trying to land it which was heartbreaking but I think it really hit her with the bug… she still talks about how she wants to stick another one like that all the time. 

 

I think part of why she enjoyed it so much is because in a lot of ways it’s what fishing was to me in the beginning that bit me with the bug, it was an adventure in nature with a cool objective where you get to interact with wildlife directly. I could’ve immediately brought her into a tournament as my co-angler, because that’s what I enjoy nowadays, but that isn’t what made me fall in love with it in the first place and I don’t think it would’ve for her, it felt like a better choice to take a couple steps back to square one. She’s getting to the point where she’s a very competent angler without any help from me, but we still make the time to do trips like that first one and go back to square one and go on adventures and it makes for a great detox from the competitive fishing I enjoy so much and i’m not sure it’s something i’d get around to without her! Next I think we are going to go to the mountains and chase some trout on little mountain streams and i’ll get to teach a thing or two again. I think a lot of it was her willingness to learn so I might’ve had it easy, but you said your wife enjoyed reeling them in so there’s at the very least some interest/enjoyment already there to work with. Hope you can extract something out of my experiences to help & I hope your fishing trip goes well.

[Susky River Rat]

@Choporoz she goes on the boat. She’s been out with me often so I understand those challenges. It’s the keeping her interest and I don’t want to make her feel “dumb” which honestly I feel stupid half the time I’m on the boat anyway lol. 
 

@gimruis yes I think the panfishing/bobber watching is the way to start and hopefully graduate her into more advanced so to speak. I’m sure at first I will be casting for her so she can get the taste of it and hopefully start catching. Then hopefully that makes her get the itch.

[a1712]

Thank God my Wife shows zero interest in fishing. She's gorgeous, built like a centerfold, and I love her beyond words, I do not want to fish with her. Brian. 

[Susky River Rat]

All great replies. I’m just trying to keep it fun and entertaining for her.

 

@Fishingmickey she doesn’t like to control the boat.  Especially at trolling speed with a jet it’s way to much counter steering. She was interested in the electronics side of things some what when I trolled for musky. 

1 minute ago, a1712 said:

Thank God my Wife shows zero interest in fishing. She's gorgeous, built like a centerfold, and I love her beyond words, I do not want to fish with her. Brian. 

Lol it wouldn’t be an all the time thing. It’s just a we are going away and taking the boat thing.

[Bird]

My wife only pan fishes but loves being on the water with a book while I'm chasing Bass.

She's very low maintenance..... thankfully.

[Darth-Baiter]

Trolling?  i would troll.

 

watching a bobber is just about the only activity that makes trolling a lure seem exciting.  i would troll.  drag a painters bucket in the water if you need the boat to slow down.  while trolling, you two can talk about your feelings.

[Pat Brown]

I'm very very fortunate to have a tough rugged outdoors woman who loves to bass fish almost as much as I do.

 

My son is also included.  Fishing is a blessing.  Family is a blessing.  We only get so much time on this earth.  I'm thankful I get to enjoy life's blessings all at once!

 

[Catt]

22 yrs ago Carolann surprised me by asking to one of my rods. To my astonishment she starts casting my Calcutta with zero backlashes. I asked her how, she said I heard you explain it to the boys. She caught 3 bass on a Texas Rig & says that it, that's easy! 

 

I just smiled ?

[Functional]

my wife has just started getting interested in what I'm doing when we go out. Usually she just hangs out in the back, tans, looks stuff up on her phone, etc. This year she started asking about the electronics and what I'm looking at and look for and says she wants to come out more often. If she wants to fish I plan on throwing her on something that can be fished mindlessly but still do something.

 

@TnRiver46 might disagree but when that time comes it will be a smaller spinnerbait on a spinning rod ? . Easy to fish and can bring anything from a crappy to bass to catfish in. Also addicting with the surprise violent tug. 

[TnRiver46]

@Functional, that way she won’t have to touch any fish……

[1984isNOW]

I actually think a bobber might be less fun unless you are certain you're gonna land on some sunnies.

 

I set my girlfriend, now wife, up with a Walmart zebco spinning set up and some little inline spinners and little cranks. It always feels better not catching anything if you're at least doing something. Watching a bobber and not catching anything is boring, casting and retrieving at least makes ya feel like you're not just sitting there.

 

Or hook her up with a ned rig if you know it's not gonna be super snaggy.

 

Don't worry about catching a fish yourself, and show her how to cast. Let her get the first casts in all the good spots, and when she flubs the cast and blows the spot up don't react how ya would if you did it haha.

[Steveo-1969]

1 hour ago, a1712 said:

Thank God my Wife shows zero interest in fishing. She's gorgeous, built like a centerfold, and I love her beyond words, I do not want to fish with her. Brian. 

My wife has been telling me for years and years now “If we buy a boat I would fish with you all the time!”.

 

 We still don’t have a boat……

[Captain Phil]

Having a wife that enjoys doing what you enjoy is like hitting life's lottery.  My wife and I met in school when we were 16.  Her father took her fishing when she was a child and we fished together before and after school.   She fished he and she tournaments with me in our bass club and we fished together all over the world.  She is Irish with very light skin and green eyes.   She eventually developed skin cancer, so she rarely fishes now. 

 

Not every woman likes fishing.  The important thing is to keep it interesting.  You may enjoy waiting for hours to catch a fish, most people don't.  I don't know if I would go the bobber route.  I think learning to cast would be more fun for her.   Have her practice a little at home before you go out in the boat.  If you know a place with a lot of small bass, that would be ideal as action is more important than size.  I would start her off with a spinning outfit, light line and small plastic worms.  Don't let her become bored.  If she has some success early on, she will want to go again.  Good Luck!

[a1712]

2 hours ago, Steveo-1969 said:

My wife has been telling me for years and years now “If we buy a boat I would fish with you all the time!”.

 

 We still don’t have a boat……

I had 2 boats, jet and std.. She would accompany me, sit in her beach chair on the back, read and relax. I'd somehow become the most popular person on the water, with the amount of boats hanging around. Second thought, I guess it could have been her bikini. Brian. 

[geo g]

I’ve been fishing south florida for over 45 years.  When we were both young newly weds, I took her salt water fishing for mangrove snappers in a secret hot spot.  I look over and she has hooked a big snapper using a bobber and live scrimp.  She brings it in and it is bleeding from the gills.  She starts crying about hurting the fish.  That was the last time we went fishing together.  It worked out great for both of us!!!!!!  She is happy I’m going, and she is happy to stay home.

[the reel ess]

6 hours ago, Darnold335 said:

My wife and I are going in a little get away this weekend. I am taking my boat to the near by little lake. I am trying to get my wife to fish a little. I have let her reel in bass a few times after I have hooked them. She enjoyed it. I want to start her off just bobber watching. She’s some what against it. More so the fact “ she doesn’t know how” I want to take the time to teach her so when she goes out on the boat it could be more enjoyable for her. She’s also not really the outdoors type but, cause on the boat because I enjoy doing it. Kind of like I watch her TV shows because she likes them.

 

Has anyone had any luck with doing this? Tips? Tricks? Or is it just a lost cause?

 

I also don’t care if she doesn’t ever get passed the bobber watching stage. I am completely fine with that. 

My wife went crappie fishing with me once. I just kept baiting her hook and she kept catching crappie. When the bite slowed and I had time to fish, all I could get was catfish. I bought her a combo and everything but she never went again. She said it's just not her bag.

 

So I guess what I'm saying is just keep her baited up and catching. 

[GaryH]

7 hours ago, Darnold335 said:

My wife and I are going in a little get away this weekend. I am taking my boat to the near by little lake. I am trying to get my wife to fish a little. I have let her reel in bass a few times after I have hooked them. She enjoyed it. I want to start her off just bobber watching. She’s some what against it. More so the fact “ she doesn’t know how” I want to take the time to teach her so when she goes out on the boat it could be more enjoyable for her. She’s also not really the outdoors type but, cause on the boat because I enjoy doing it. Kind of like I watch her TV shows because she likes them.

 

Has anyone had any luck with doing this? Tips? Tricks? Or is it just a lost cause?

 

I also don’t care if she doesn’t ever get passed the bobber watching stage. I am completely fine with that. 

Best advice I can give is put your patience hat on. When she gets snagged tell her no big deal happens all the time and when she looses some of your favorite lures same deal, no big deal. She’ll either enjoy fishes or won’t. Good luck Donald hope she hits a home run.

[treble hook]

6 hours ago, a1712 said:

Thank God my Wife shows zero interest in fishing. She's gorgeous, built like a centerfold, and I love her beyond words, I do not want to fish with her. Brian. 

I understand this completely. That's how I feel about hunting. I like it when my wife goes fishing with me. She will fish a little, lay out a little, and read a little and we enjoy the time together. But in a tree stand, aint nobody got time for that.

[FishTank]

I won't matter how many fish you catch or how much fun you have, if you don't have a bathroom plan.  Just sayin.