(Carp) Fishing with Kids (part 3 - location and expectations)

The next thing is location. You want a spot with a shallow slope into the water so that there is less chance that deeper water can be reach by a small person who has not got the concept of self preservation quite figured out yet. I also like a place that is hard to wander away from, such as a steep bank farther back or a wide open area that has a good line of sight in all directions. These features help you keep an eye on things and making fishing easier. This is not always the case with the swim you might want to fish most but in the next section I will talk about expectations - maybe the biggest part of carp fishing with children.

Carp are a great fish for kids. Some of the best memories can be from taking a child fishing and having them catch the biggest fish of their life!

I have also found that gravel is the best type of ground to be fishing on. This is because it affords an supply of fun and keeps the mud down. While mud is something that is going to happen and is not that big of a deal, I prefer if it is kept to a minimum as I am adverse to cleaning if it can be avoided. Sand is okay and can be better as you move into older children but for some small ones sand is boring...unless you did a big hole and fill it with water for a private mud bath in which case its great.

Picking a water with a good head of fish is a good idea -
even if they are on the smaller side.

Another consideration is, of course, what is in the water. While carp are good, they are best if they are in good numbers and if they are not then some other species ideally will fill in the dull periods. In the USA sunfish often fit the bill, but other species can work as well. Amphibians are particularly good, with tadpoles being about as good an entertainer as any you could hope to find. Crayfish are also good and can provide much entertainment. This is where that net and bucket come in and really earn their keep.

Okay, so now expectations. I will keep these ideas short and number them.

1. Don't plan to fish as hard as normal
2. Don't plan to fish in the "best" swim
3. Don't plan to fish as long
4. Plan to play some
5. Plan to untangle a lot

That about covers it. This may seem like the very purpose of life has been taken away from you but I assure you that you can still catch some nice fish with a little planning and there is nothing as good as seeing a small child grow and get excited about catching fish. As I mentioned earlier the more fish there are the better but don't over look crayfish. This also has an added benefit that might not be apparent at the first pass: by catching small organisms for your child to play with you are also figuring out what the carp might be feeding on. I have learned alot from flipping over some rocks and seeing what I can find. Also keep in mind that time spent on the water is time well spent as you will be able to get a better idea of where the fish are for a later trip even if this time you are not fishing as hard as you would like.