Yeah, a lot of things suck as of now, but life here ain't so bad.

I haven't been fishing in nearly 10 years, but my youngest child
just asked me to teach him.  

My step-dad taught my brother and I to fish at Lake Wilderness in Spotsylvania
in the late '70s.  I have fond memories, but that man prejudiced us against catfish.  

There's more to life than bluegill, and fried catfish is AWESOME!


In my pre-teens, I learned to catch and appreciate trout (by way of eating them in PA  ).


If you're bored enough to answer (not a data mining thread), what fish do y'all recommend I teach
my brat to catch, and where at in this commonwealth should we go (not your secret spot, of course).

Also, I have zero experience salt water fishing.

ETA - last place I went was Germantown Lake in Midland of Fauquier and my older kids liked it.

I'd start with shore fishing at any lake or reservoir.  A river's current may make it difficult to keep the bait in place.  A simple hook, worm, sinker, and bobber combo should be enough to catch a fish.  Size or species isn't important if you are showing a little kid how to fish. Not looking for a lunker, just catching any fish should be fun and a good start.  Catch and release after taking appropriate pictures is probably a good idea unless you happen on to one that is worth eating.  I did this with our two nephews when they were kids and they had a blast.  Their dad isn't an outdoors type so they never held a fishing pole until the wife and I took them out.

Easiest with results would be just getting some bobbers and a box of night crawlers. Find a farm pond and go for it. I'm taking my two boys Fishing on my farm pond tomorrow

An inline spinner is a great lure to start with it will catch just about everything in VA.  Some kids just love bobber watching though.  Find out what works for your kid.  Enjoy your time together.

Here’s what I use to catch all sorts of panfish:

1/16 or 1/32 oz jig head rigged on a slip bobber with some tiny Berkeley Gulp Alive minnows.  

Slip bobber makes it much easier to cast and gives extra weight for casting.  The jig head is just enough weight to pull the minnow bait down to your set depth.  

The Berkeley Gulp baits work.  The liquid they are stored in stinks, so don’t ever spill it.  I prefer them over live bait because my fishing is infrequent, short trips of opportunity.  Live bait would die between outings for me.  The Gulp baits are gone on the shelf for years as long as you keep the lid tight.

Panfish are great for young anglers because they are easy to find and catch, providing fun, positive feedback.

Had a fishing tournament yesterday out of Hopewell.  Didn't do so well

Started to build my shop/garage starting back before 2008, little at a time, still not finished.
It all started adding onto my grand daddy's 8 x 10 Ft. shed . . .
Had left some brush and saplings on the side of garage . . . was going to get them gone but other things got in my way.
So, a small job turned into a Backhoe job!
My buddy came over and used my cousin's backhoe and we started cleaning it all up. Put a big dent in it, more to go on Monday.
My pal's wife (also his major helper) is a Major Fishaholic and she went down to the pond to fish.
She wasn't gone 15 minutes and came back with a 2 foot Bass!
Then she came back with more, and more and more!!!
She sent pics to my phone, but because I'm a Tech Challenged guy, I can't figure how to get them on my PC to post them up yet.

Anyway, here's some pics of our work . . . dumb me, I failed to take a pre-job pic!!! But you may be able to figure out what a mess I had by not keeping it mowed from the beginning.

So she sent me the pics via email . . .

Attached File


Attached File


Attached File


Attached File

More Big fish . .

I learned something from her . . .
I always thought you just cast the lure out and wait . . .. NO!
She casts the lure out onto the Lily pads and then lets it gently drop down into the water.
The big Bass like it under the Lily pads, they wait for something to fall off or jump into the water.
I am impressed with her skills!

Attached File

Great fish photos!  I'm gonna show them to my youngest shortly.

Girl and her husband just left, we have wind gusts up to 30 mph, she could not cast like she wanted.
She is awesome!

I'm actually excited to take my youngest child.

He's autistic and can be annoying with his dislikes of EVERYTHING,
so doing regular things like I did with his older brother and sister
gives me hope he can grow beyond whatever it is that is trying to
hijack his brain.



Plus, fried fish!  Catch and release... into our stomachs!  

If your anywhere near the tidal Potomac. you really cant go wrong with catfish for the kids.   Catching sunnies all day they get bored and want a "big fish" which to a kid is usually like 10 pounds. Tons of blues.  If your kid is a little older and wants a great fight. Carp are the way to go in Freshwater.  hardest fighting fish in the potomac, with the exception of the migratory stripers that are just starting to make their  way into the river for a month or so.  

Salt water? Cobia. or bull reds.  PERIOD.  your kid will always remember those catches.