Okay, so let me be clear here. I know very little about fishing. I've caught some panfish and bullheads on a hook and bobber in my life but that is about it. I really don't care much for fishing. Never caught the bug for whatever reason. Having said that, I want to take my oldest boy out fishing this weekend. It will be a great way for us to spend time in the outdoors. I just want us to have fun and catch some decent fish. So give me fishing with young kids 101. What should I use? Jigs? Just hooks? Leaders? Sinkers? How many and where? Use bobbers I take it? How deep should I set the bobber? How large of a hook should I use? Nightcrawlers? Wax Worms? Where should I start and what should I be looking for? The lakes we will be going to sound like that are large/small mouth bass, panfish, some northern type stuff. We will be fishing from the shore. Thanks.
The best guarantee to catch fish, would be to just use nightcrawlers or worms under a cork, or tightlining. You will catch fish with 100% certainty. Now what, and how big, that all depends.
I agree with Hooker, that would be my plan. I'd also likely get a couple of live shiners as well and hooky them just under the dorsal fin with the same bobber setup, with maybe the hook 2-3' under the bobber. With kids, numbers are more important than size and it's really hard to beat live bait for numbers.
With my kids I just set up some poles with hooks about 6-8 inches from the bobber and bait with wax worms and they will catch blue gill all day long. They love it!
Everyone else is right. For just taking a young kid out. Just stick to the bobber and worms. Just adjust the distance of the bobber to the water depth. Good luck and have fun.
Going with a friend that is a regular fisherman would certainly help, he could get you going with the proper set up and techniques and then he could receive text message of an important matter and have to leave, while you and your son enjoy the rest of the day bonding.
Get a little tub of wax worms, some #6 bait hooks and some bobbers. 1-2 feet of line between the bobber and the hook should do just fine for panfish close to shore and still be easy for the little ones to cast.
If you have the available funds... find a fishing guide for a half day trip. There's nothing like being successful and you can learn a lot in a few hours. That lets you enjoy the day with them, take some great photos, and not be frustrated. JMO
