It’s funny, just these past few years, I’ve found out that fishing is free for kids under 16 in my state!  So that means I can take both of my kids fishing without paying for a fishing license ($16 per year per adult).

So last year, I took my son and daughter fishing, and to my surprise, they had a blast.  My son had a ball casting over and over again.  And I got to teach my daughter the ropes.  Of course, I was constantly nervous of getting hooked or them getting hooked, but it worked out okay.  It was nice just hanging out with them.

My son caught a few small bluegill.  My daughter had some bites but didn’t give the fishing pole that little jerk that hooks the fish, perhaps this year she’ll do better.

When I was a kid, my older uncles gave me grief about baiting the worm on the hook and after catching a fish, taking the fish off of the hook.  I did it, but didn’t like it!!!  Now, it’s 2nd nature to me, but my kids are in the same circumstance I was in as a kid.

So what trick do I use to make it more pleasant so that my kids want to go fishing?

I decided to buy some rubber gloves to make it easier on my kids.  My daughter’s still not to crazy about the process, but my son took to the gloves like a fish in water (sorry, corny joke).

The beauty of using the gloves is if you get them wet first, it’s better for the fish because when you use your hands, you take some of the protective oil off of the body of the fish.  So it’s a win-win! My son enjoys using the gloves so the bony fins don’t jab him, and we help keep the fish healthy at the same time (if we release it)!

Oh, I do want to share one little tip!  If you just want the kids to fish for smaller fish, try small cut up pieces of hot dogs!  They worked better than worms when we were in Disney World last year.

Do you use any special tricks to make an activity a little more enjoyable?  If you do, what is the activity and what’s your trick?

-MR