Fly Fishing With Kids

The last day the grandkids were in town Nick and I took them fishing to the Weber River to enjoy a day of either having fun catching trout or watching their dad catch trout.  When taking kids fishing you need to keep them entertained.  Standing on the bank and not catching anything won’t keep their interest for long and may give them the feeling that fishing is boring, the opposite of what you want to impress on their young minds.  Starting out, climbing over the fence to join the sheep kept them entertained. Next we managed to catch two large garter snakes.  Good thing we had our nets.  I know, you want to know what fly we were using. 

Nick caught a trout before we even got past the sheep.  This started us out on the right note with the kids.  The youngest grandchild, Max, got the honors of netting the fish. Hurry before it gets off!

Crossing the river was the next source of entertainment.  On our backs, Nick carried Max and I carried Andrew. The big, deep hole we had crossed the river to reach looked promising and gave the kids enough room to cast their spinners.  This river is really more of a fly fishing river and the fish were not interested in the offered hardware.  

After the kids got bored from not catching anything, we crossed back over the river.  By this time the kids were used to climbing on our backs.  Little Nick however, had to cross each way by himself.  Back on the near side of the river Nick and I each caught more trout.  

The grand finale was a large brown trout that took Nick back across the river into the swift water with the three grandkids following along.  Don’t let their mom (or grandmother) find out about this catch.

After lunch we headed to a spot further downstream that we knew also had a deep hole that would work for spinners.  

Rather than sheep, this spot had old rusty car bodies; still a little intrigue for the kids. 

We let the kids try fishing first but still the fish didn’t seem interested.  Nick and I kept letting Max net the fish we caught on flies. 

Even though Andrew didn’t catch anything, he was still happy singing, helping the others and having an enjoyable time. 

He has the personality of someone who is fun to take along and is a true sportsman.