Booking a fishing trip with kids

There are lots of good reasons to take kids fishing. It’s a great family activity. They learn about the natural world. They get involved in something that requires patience, persistence, and has a long learning curve. It sure beats video games.

Parents and grandparents who want to show the younger generation the fun of fishing in Alaska often ask us the right age for getting a kid started. Angling Unlimited has no minimum age requirement because what matters most is the individual kid. I’ve had 8 year olds hold up beautifully for three days and seen much older kids bail out after a day or two.

Here are 10 steps to making an Alaskan trip work for that lucky kid.

Rule 1: Don’t try too hard.

I see lots of kids aboard my boat whose parent or grandparent is a fishing fanatic. When they bring a youngster, they push for a similar fanaticism from the kid. This is tricky business. Trying too hard to force a kid to love fishing doesn’t work real well. They need to take it at their own pace and if force fed too much, the kid gags.