Over the past few years, we all have read about the decline of youth in fishing. Just like in anything else, youth are our future and it takes us as adults to open these doors for the children of today.
I opened that door for my daughter last summer when she was 2 years old. It wasn’t the most successful outing, but she did catch a fish. A few turns of the reel and it was hers. I took her to Forest Lake and we just fished off of the landing dock. All we used were waxworms on a small plain hook with a fixed bobber. It did not take long and the sunfish were everywhere. It also didn’t take long and she lost her interest.
What did interest her was watching the sunfish in the water over the side of the dock. Watching the fish in the water interested her so much that she decided to throw the whole case of worms in the water to watch the fish eat them. It was fun because there were a lot of fish around the dock for her to watch and overall it turned out to be a great first experience. Ever since that day she loves the idea of going fishing or just going to a dock and being around that environment. I imagine that this is an interest she will have the rest of her life.
When I was younger I also spent a lot of time fishing from the shore and it was one of the ways that I was introduced into the sport. I could sit on a fishing pier and catch sunfish all day with the occasional crappie or bass mixed in. Some of my best memories of fishing when I was young were from shore and to this day I still enjoy it.
One of the best things about fishing from shore is that you never do know what you are going to catch. Last summer I spent an afternoon on the shores of Long Lake by myself and caught crappies, sunfish, bullheads and a northern. All fish were caught using a plain hook and a crappie minnow under a bobber. You can do this at almost any lake and you don’t need a boat to get into some great fishing. It is perfect for kids because you do not need much to get started. All that you need is a fishing pole, bobber, sinkers, a small hook or jig and some worms and you are ready to go. For the inexperienced I am sure that you can walk into any local bait shop that carries fishing equipment and they would be more than happy to set you up. Once you are set it is time to hit the water.
Living in the metro area, the opportunities for shore fishing are endless. It seems that every few miles or so there is a lake with a fishing pier on it. Have you ever taken the time to fish from some of these areas? If you don’t have a boat or you have kids that want too catch fish there is a ton of opportunity very close to home.
Try finding and fishing at a pier. If you don’t know where to find one, visit the DNR Web site (
www.dnr.state.mn.us ) and type in “Fishing in the Neighborhood” in the sites search field. You will find all the information that you need on where you can find a fishing pier. They have some great information for shore fishing in the metro area through a program called FiN which stands for Fishing in the Neighborhood. They work to maintain fishing piers, create new piers at various metro area lakes and promote fishing to youth and others who want to be introduced into the sport.
Whether you fish or not, you can take your kids to a local pier on one of our many local lakes. I guarantee that you will be back again and again. In today’s world of technology, what a great excuse to get outside. Good luck!
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Topic: Shore Fishing in Minnesota (Read 2256 times)
