3 Great Beginner Fishing Poles for Kids

So you're considering getting a best kid's beginner fishing pole from this Lens? Deciding "I'll do it" is one of the good decisions you'll make in this life. If you get yourself one too, or at least spend time with your child while they use theirs, it's an even better choice. Like the Trace Adkins song "Just Fishin''" says, you'll be doing a lot more than fishin'!

Some of my fondest childhood memories are of fishing trips with my father. He went for the big fish like largemouth bass and northern pike, using lures, while I fished for perch and bluegill using worms. With my childhood mentality I couldn't understand why he'd waste so much time tossing lures around... I was the one having fun catching the most fish!

Children today spend far too much time on computers and cell phones, sadly, with adults leading the way. Getting out and doing something organic like baiting a hook with a worm and then patiently waiting for a fish to bite is a guaranteed method of strengthening the bond with the child in your life!

Fishing is one of the most popular recreational activities in the United States with estimates ranging from about 20% to as high as 30% of the adult population participating in the sport. Annually, about 30 million people pay for a license to fish.

All you really need is a fishing pole set, which comes with the rod, the reel and fishing line installed.

Add hooks and a bobber or two, then grab a dozen nightcrawlers at a local bait shop and your child is ready to fish! In most states no license is required for children under a certain age. If you decide to fish also then you'll likely need to purchase a license.

Any of these three choices would make an excellent kid's Christmas gift: The Princess for young girls, Spiderman for boys, the Zebco for older kids. These come with the pole and a reel loaded with line. Add bobbers, hooks and sinkers as stocking stuffers and they'll be good to go!

I'm a firm believer in children wearing a life jacket anytime they're around open water. Letting a youngster fish without one from a shoreline or a dock, let alone a boat, can present dangers the average person simply isn't aware of. I hate to put it this way but "I'm right here to save them if they fall in" is the mantra of the uneducated fool. And occasionally, a parent pays an extremely heavy price for being that fool.

I've even approached parents fishing from a dock with their child nearby, where I know the water is deep and murky with cast off shopping carts and other trash on the bottom that would trap their child if they fell in and went to the bottom, and lectured them slightly (in a nice way). Of course it still ticks them off a bit, and they do always repeat the fool's mantra noted above, but they usually take their child and leave shortly thereafter. Perhaps once they calm down and consider my motive, future behavior will change. I'd rather have a ticked off parent on my conscience than a dead child.

Anyone who gains knowledge about the real dangers under the surface and the dangers of water itself, once educated, would agree: when a child gets near water, the life jacket goes on.

My recommend for bobbers is the South Bend 10 Assorted Flourescent Floats.

So you've got your child set up with a fishing pole, hook, bobber, nightcrawlers....maybe a light sinker to help cast it out a bit further. You've located a lake or river to try. Now what? How do they catch some bluegill, perch or other panfish?

I tie the hook on the very bottom of the line, put a worm (nightcrawler) on the hook and set the bobber about two feet above the hook. That's the rig. Now if you do decide a sinker is necessary to cast farther or to keep the worm lower in the water then put it at the bottom, the hook maybe 6-12 inches above it, then the (optional) bobber.

Panfish tend to hang out near cover. That might be a dock, a "fish attracter" placed by the Corps of Engineers, weed beds near shore, a tree that blew over into the water...anything of that nature. Have your child cast the rig in as close to the cover as possible without getting tangled up in it. Then wait... usually in a few minutes, sometimes just a few seconds, they'll get a bite. Sometimes the fish will run with it immediately, sometimes they'll play with it a bit first. Have your child wait for the bobber to either move quickly across the surface or go under the water to "jerk" the rod slightly and set the hook. Voila, they've hooked their first panfish!

On my daughter's first outing she got about thirty firm bites and caught six bluegill. I told her how proud I was of her and she responded by busting out in crocodile tears. I asked her what was wrong and she replied, "I didn't catch them all Daddy, some got away!" Now those are some pretty high standards!

An amazing song from Trace about taking his little girl fishing. It doesn't get any better than this....