Techniques &

How do I get my children to enjoy fishing so I can take family fishing holidays?

There is one very easy way to answer this question, take your boy or girl to a local trout pond. If after ten minutes your child says"Daddy I am bored...". This is your key to plan a little window in your holiday for you to fish and let your children stay on shore doing things that they like. The pond episode will already have saved you a lot of anguish and expense - to find out if fishing is something you both enjoy now or if your child lets you know that fish are yucky and slimy.

A good example happened to bear this out just the other day, While on a sportsfishing charter of my own I had a ten year old boy from Montreal, Quebec. From the moment this young boy stepped on the boat I could tell he was keen. His first words to his dad were "Look Dad - Ken uses Garcia reels just like we do and look how light these graphite rods are. We Have A Winner.!!

It did not surprise me in the least that twenty minutes after we started jigging in a school of bait this boy set the hooks in to a sixteen pound beauty!!.

The young lady from Kamloops B.C. that you will find in our View of our Catches -most adults have a hard time fighting good sized fish on single action reels. She not only played a eighteen pounder into the boat, but she also landed a hard fighting Tyee with no help. Remember this young lady was ten years old !

The last story I will relate is one that most people will find fits the story of their experience of fishing with kids. While doing a charter for a well known lodge I had a father and son fishing duo. While on the way out to fishing grounds the father asked me what would be his best bet to catch a fish. I mentioned that one very effective method is to jig for salmon, and so we decided this is what we would do. Five minutes after we had started to fish we heard those blood curdling words. "Daddy ,where did you put my Nintendo? " Because this father was in the running for father of the year he spent the next four hours doing the Daddy do two step.

Remember - a good parent/child fishing trip begins long before you step on the dock. Spend a little time on preparation and ensuring that the interest is there - and if it isn't, well, remember, it takes different strokes for different folks !

What should I use if I bring my own boat ?

Over my twenty years in the business I am asked the same question over and over. What is the best thing for me to use if I bring my own boat? The absolute best thing you can do is contact a well known guide when you arrive. Go out on a four hour charter and follow his every move. As soon as you hook fish, check the time and remember the time, location, and what you were using for success. If you have done your homework you should meet with sucess the following day(s). Just remember to add 1/2 hour to each days tide.

The second thing that will bring you results - if you are unsure of what to use, consider this : At King Jigger we use all methods to catch fish but by far the most effective are jigs. They will out produce everything else at a 7 to 1 ratio. Yearly we bring between 600 to 800 chinooks to the boat (yes, we do lots of catch and release), some days are 30+ fun days ! This is mostly with beginners - we have a lot of fun teaching first time and novice fishermen how to catch salmon !

If you do not like to jig, then I would suggest you troll cut plug herring. Your guide can show you the most effective method for the area you are fishing !

Good luck fishing,

Ken (the King Jigger)