Fishing with kids

Every summer we spend as much time at the cottage as possible.

This is how I spent my summers growing up, and this is what I am so greatful my kids get to do.  Our cottage is 3 hours north of the city, on a gorgeous quiet lake.  It's the perfect place for the kids to grow up.

One of the things I enjoyed doing as a kid was going fishing with my parents.  After dinner we would get ourselves ready to go out on the boat and catch some fish.

I now get to do this with my kids and my parents.  Seeing my kids fish with their papa is heartwarming.  I watched my oldest go through this stage and now seeing the little ones go through it is just as fun.

This past weekend we got our first taste of summer at the cottage.  A fabulous day of swimming, a bbq dinner and of course our evening fishing time.

The kid got all dressed, protected with bug spray, put on their life jackets and were presented brand new fishing rods from their papa.

I watched my son help his papa get the boat ready to go and eagerly climb in ready to catch some fish.

Fishing with kids takes patience. And a sense of humour. In past years they were more of a spectator, they showed some interest, wanted to hold the fishing rod for 2 minutes  and then all interest was lost.

This year they became full on fishermen, or fisherwomen.  They were ready to catch some big fish.

As our fishing adventure took place I made a mental note of the events of the evening, I thought I would share my thoughts.

Things to remember when fishing with kids:

1. Save your breath telling them to be quiet that they will scare the fish away, it's not going to happen.  The louder they are the more fish you will catch

2. Pack lots of snacks.  Apparently fishing is hard work and requires constant snacking.

3. When your 5 year old learns how to cast, ensure they have a 3 foot clearance at all times, unless of course you are looking for a new nose piercing

4. When other people decide to fish near you, they will leave after the 3rd round of "eye spy" when they realize the kids only get louder.  Either that or when the fish net becomes a microphone and the kids put on a concert in the middle of the lake

5. They will want to touch every single fish that is caught, get over the gross factor

6. Peeing off the back of the boat is an adventure for a 3 year old boy.

7. The kids will drive you nuts.  But you will do it again the following night.

8. Finally, have your camera ready.  You will want to capture every single moment of the chaos that is fishing with children.

New adventures with the kids are memories made to last forever.  Happy Summer!