Teaching kids to fly fish...

[Corey Bechtold]

My son Cole is asking a lot of questions about fly fishing. He wants to learn how to cast but having him try my 9' rod isn't helping. I have seen some practice rods but I can't remember if it was just a light weight spinning rod with yarn? Maybe there is an actual combo for kids with all the hardware to get them started?

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Corey Bechtold

[rushing]

Take a old fly rod amd break it down and thread about 10-12ft of yard through the top half all the way to the bottom and sit on your living room floor and teach him how to cast. You can set up targets and make a game out of it. You be suprised on how well yarn casts loops like flyline.

[Corey Bechtold]

How long should the rod be? Would the top half of a 2-piece rod work?

Thanks for the tip,

Corey Bechtold

[Quickstrike]

How old is your son? I think getting a 7 and a half foot combo and letting him practice with the real thing would be your best bet, practice in the yard, and then when he gets it down go chase some gills to get him excited and confident. I have seen and tried some of the training rods that come with yarn, but personally think a short fly rod would be the best choice.

[Corey Bechtold]

Almost 6. I tied some yarn on the end of a 5'6" UL rod and he's been whippin'.

I'll have to look for the real thing next time I go shopping. I'll also have to invest in a face shield.

Keep the tips coming,

Corey Bechtold

[DinkADunk]

7'-8', med to med-slow action, 3-4 wt, works well to learn casting. No matter how much you practice in the yard, the trees, grass, banks, and rocks will still eat flies. My kids (8&9) practice about an hour a week and use their fly rods (8', 5wts) for a couple of hours when we go out, after which they switch to spinning gear (it's good to cover your bases), quietly scout fish, or sit on the bank and read. My daughter did well this past week in the Black Hills. She scouted out the water for me, figured out some of the bugs, and put me on to an 18" trout hiding under a bank - built in guide service.

[Corey Bechtold]

Ahhh, cheap labor

I am going to look for a smaller fly rod for Cole and the rest of the kids to use.

Thanks for the tips,

Corey Bechtold

[macgruber]

don't know where in mn. you are from, but if you are at all near the cities, the science museum has a fly fishing course for kids in the summers...... i still remember taking it as a little guy...... your son would have a few years to go, as i think i was around 10 or so....

it was taught by a really nice old guy who showed us all a few patterns and taught us to tie up some woolly buggers, foam poppers, caddis, and hare's ears....... then took us down to the local lake and released us for the afternoon..... most of the flies looked like mini disasters on a hook, but they caught fish...... we logged sunnies, crappies, bass, and pike.....

the culmination of the course was a trip to the rush.... i still remember a pack of us trying to fish that river-- we were scrambling all over it spooking every fish within 100 yds..... but i'll never forget stepping into the water by a bank and spooking two really big trout from under the cut bank.....

in a few years it's something to look into-- i know they still offer it..... grab a group of his buddies, sign 'em all up and let 'em go nuts for a few weeks learning to fish..... all my friends still talk about it too....

[rushing]

Quote:

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How long should the rod be? Would the top half of a 2-piece rod work?

Thanks for the tip,

Corey Bechtold

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The top half of a 8ft or 9ft rod. I run the yarn all the way through the guides to the bottom and hold onto it like you would hold a fly line.