How do you teach someone to catch fish?

[padlin]

Have been taking 2 grandkids fishing this year, both new to the sport, can’t seem to get them to catch fish using anything but worms bobber style, these are teenagers.

 

Fishing the same areas in the same boat using the same baits, they catch nothing, I catch a bunch.

 

How do you convey lure speed, depth, feel, and such without coming across as preaching? It’s all I can think of different. If it matters I’m self taught so I have no model to look back on.

 

[roadwarrior]

"Just Getting Started"
Guaranteed To Catch Bass
I just cant catch bass
Learning to fish on your own

[scaleface]

Some people are just not into it like us weirdos. 

[Darth-Baiter]

I met some 75 year old on the lake. He told me he has never caught a bass. I led him and his kayak out and showed him where to cast.  Rigged up a bait for him.  Man, he was awful.  He zeroed and I crushed them.  I couldn’t NOT catch a fish.  And I was casting way less frequently than him. 
 

Never been so happy to get rained out.  It was awkward. 

[Pat Brown]

Casting accuracy is probably the single most important part of bass fishing but I would say second to that is how you work your bait and I remember when I first started bass fishing, I was utterly shocked at how little you should be doing to get those fish to bite down there.

[WVU-SCPA]

Find a pond where you can't not catch fish.  Then you can drop the bobber for a wacky worm, trig, ect. and start working the understanding of the basics without them losing interest. 

 

If you can find a pond with high visibility even better, they can see how their actions impact the bait and also see the fish reactions.  Then you can even pick out structure they can see and what it feels like moving through grass/wood/rock and how they need to control their movement to keep the bait in the best presentation. 

 

 

[A-Jay]

2 hours ago, padlin said:

Have been taking 2 grandkids fishing this year, both new to the sport, can’t seem to get them to catch fish using anything but worms bobber style, these are teenagers.

 

Fishing the same areas in the same boat using the same baits, they catch nothing, I catch a bunch.

 

How do you convey lure speed, depth, feel, and such without coming across as preaching? It’s all I can think of different. If it matters I’m self taught so I have no model to look back on.

 

If & when you're willing to commit to it, you shouldn't be fishing during the teaching phase.

You're the instructor, so instruct.

Set them up for success in shallow water, on a school of dink bass and give them both a weightless Senko on spinning gear.

Position your rig half a cast away, tell them where to throw as well as how to fish the bait; meaning mostly do nothing the bait does all the work.

They will learn to detect a bite, hook and land the bass.

Then you can teach them how to handle & unhook the fish (better without trebles).

Finally you can teach them how to rig the bait on the hook themselves.

All seems like a good place to start to me.

Very little if any of that can happen effectively if you're focused on getting bites yourself.

Good Luck.

A-Jay

 

[the reel ess]

Getting the bait to the fish is probably what they fail to do. I remember routinely getting out-fished by my dad. If there weren't many he would catch them all. And when I caught more, he would catch the biggest one. I simply had to slow down and do exactly as he did. Early in my bassing "career" my dad only used T-rigged 6-8" mostly purple worms. He would say if they don't want the worm they aren't hungry. That taught me patience that eventually paid off. You almost can't work a worm too slowly.

 

In fact, I have a friend who goes with me very occasionally who only uses a weightless Trick Worm and reels it as slowly as possible. He catches fish most outings. He's caught a couple 5 pounders.

[gim]

Casting and retrieving a faster moving lure is a lot easier than slowing down and using a finesse plastic presentation.  The individuals that I taught to specifically bass fish (there are four of them) all started out with topwater, spinnerbaits, crankbaits, etc.  Cast and retrieve, over and over.  Bear in mind they were all adults and already knew how to fish, but they never really specifically targeted bass.  So they did know how to cast already.  Eventually they all learned how to slow down and use a plastic presentation too, but that was a more difficult process for all of them.

[J Francho]

Moving baits that get in the zone by themselves is key. Pick locations where they'll work. 

[MickD]

Best way is to take them fishing and just do it and help them do it.  It won't be preaching at all.  Start simple and work up, giving them more and more to do as they learn. 

[Spankey]

Don’t see where the problem is. They are young and starting out. Age has nothing to do with it. When starting my grandsons out it was a lot of Baby crawlers, minnows, crickets and wax worms. They fished I didn’t. Now a few years later they fish all artificial lures having a PB bass they are trying to break. In the beginning working with kids I feel it is more important that they catch fish. Whatever kind they may be. With whatever it takes. Everything will come together in time. 

[gunsinger]

Young you can teach without preaching.  Old, not so sure.  I watched once as an older gent was fishing a wacky worm in shallow water.  I saw the fish approach his bait, then I saw the line moving to the side.  I kept trying to gently tell him, "Set the hook, set the hook."  But all he did was crank the handle a few turns.  Eventually, the fish spit the bait.  The only time he catches fish is when we're moving and he's trolling a bait behind the boat.

 

I have been the skunkee before and could NOT fathom why the guy in the front of the boat was killing 'em while I got zilch.  Nothing he could tell me helped.  But, somewhere along the line I developed that feel that said, "Fish on."  Other than staying after it, I don't know how you can learn it and, until then, all you can do is discuss tactics, presentation, and process. 

 

It's okay to preach patience.

[Catt]

3 hours ago, scaleface said:

Some people are just not into it like us weirdos. 

 

As Dads, Grand-Dads, or Uncles we need to accept the fact some kids or grandkids ain't gonna have they same passion we do.

 

I raised 4 boys & 2 girls, none care to go more than casually. Out of 9 grandkids only 1 has a level passion close to mine.

 

You have to evaluate each kid individually & adjust your teaching occordly.

 

Aiden started with a Fluke, Lissie had one jump on a worm, Evan doesn't have patience so he perfers a spinnerbait.

 

 

[AlabamaSpothunter]

To me the simple act of taking someone fishing is teaching them how to fish.   Every angler will develop their own way of doing things if this is the sport for them, it's just about introducing them to the love affair, and trying our best to put new people on fish which is the most important aspect when "teaching" someone to fish.

 

Can't tell you how many folks I've taken to a fish feeder and let them catch 50 Bream and few Cats in 30mins-1hr....every last one of them loved it.    

[Jar11591]

This is where time on the water is so important. You can teach someone how to cast, you can teach someone where to cast. But once the bait hits the water, it’s then up to the angler himself to develop that sense through trial and error. How to work the bait, what a bite feels like, being in tune with your bait as it’s running through the water column out of your line of sight. Those are all things that are hard to teach but somewhat easily picked up through time on the water. 

[king fisher]

I have no idea how to teach some one to catch bass, I sure wish some one could teach me.  I am an expert at teaching people how to get a lure out of a tree, untangle a back lash or the very hard to master long distance release.  A day at my bass fishing school will not teach some one what to do, but they sure would learn what not to do. Fun will be had which after all is the most important thing anyone can teach a beginning angler. 

[TOXIC]

Coming from a guide who has helped literally hundreds of youngsters and adults alike catch their first fish, it’s very simple, T-rig a weedless Senko on a spinning rod, watch their line so you can tell them when they have a bite and coach them on everything else (casting, retrieving, fighting the fish, locating the fish, etc.) as they catch them. Newbies normally don’t have a problem slowing down for a Senko bite.  

[Will Ketchum]

If they are catching fish on a worm and a bobber, maybe that's enough. Success will keep them interested and failure will turn them off if you push them too far and too fast.

[padlin]

Thanks all for the suggestions. I like the idea of me not fishing, and try point out where to cast. Also picked up some 5” Senko’s, although I’ll have to go out myself and see if I can get Roadwarriors suggestion to work before I think about asking someone else to try it.

[Bigassbass]

I would say take them fishing with a good small closed face reel, worms, cork, and lots of patience.  You don't fish, let them fish and catch, you show them how to catch brim.  You could start at home in the yard and teach them how to cast.  Safety is utmost but don't beat it in kids heads they won't want to go. Fun it should be!  

[WRB]

I started my son with a  custom 4’ spinning rod and trigger spin reel that he could operate one handed when he was 4 years old. 

My advice is take kids out in good warm weather when you know the fishing is good. Pre fish to get a good idea what is going on before going out with anyone new to fishing so it’s a fun and successful short outing.

Kids attention span isn’y very long, plan on less then 2 hours.

The rig I like to use for smaller size bass is the split shot rig on trout spinning outfit that most dads already have.

When My was 6 years he joined Indian Guides via a school program. So we joined a tribe with 5 other dads/kids and went to camp outs with the local Nation.

My 1st outing with the Tribe/Nation was at Lake Cachuma a lake I knew well. Offered to teach the Tribe kids to bass fish using their dads spinning tackle from shore new the camping area.

6 kids 6 to 7  years old learning to cast and slowly dragging a split shot rig with 3” Smoke  S&P Reapers. Each kid caught bass successfully within an hour. My son was already skilled and was my helper showing one kid at a time how to fish as I was doing.

Next Nation camp out was at Lake Casitas another lake I knew well. Created a monster, several tribes wanted to learn to bass fish. Decided to 1st teach the dads how to rig and use a split shot, much more difficult then the kids who listened!

Too many kids with not enough supervision as the dads didn’t have the patients or skills to let the kids fish, instead they were too involved visiting to watch their own kid.

Lesson learned. Be patient and don’t try more then 2 kids or 1 adult at a time.

At the end of 3 years we had dozens of new bass anglers fishing at our lake camp outs.

Tom