Need Advise

[tiz]

I am taking my 12 year old son next June (first full week) to Lake Wabaskang (Kingfisher Lodge). It sounds like from previous posts the walleye fishing should be good either trolling harnesses or jigging. Neither of these presentations are known to keep a 12 year old focused or overly excited if the fishing slows down. Like most children, my son loves catching fish, not necessarily fishing. Would you suggest starting the day catching perch, something that usually provides faster action and then move to walleye and northern fishing or start with the eyes and end the day catching perch? I understand that three or four hours in the boat is probably all that we can both handle and some days fun may consist of just riding around the lake looking for good rocks to throw and that is fine, but man I want to catch some fish. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated. I did tell him the cabin did not have any TV. He asked if this was the 1930's or something???

[Jatar]

Not catching fish is no fun for anyone, I have taken my son to Canada 2x, he will be 11 next week. I had no problem with him in the boat all day long, having shorelunch or just beaching the boat and having a sandwich, doing a little exploring worked well, the first trip, we fished Cedar Lake from 8 am to 5pm and then went out after dinner until dark, at the end of the week he wanted to stay another day ! This year we fished on the English river and after 2 hours he asked me if we could come back here next year ! Neither place had TV or internet, it's quality time that we will do every year, you will probably be surprised (and pleased) with your trip.

[hoosiercanadian]

I would chase whatever bite that the weather allows for, if you wake up to a nice walleye chop then fish the windy side of points and shoreline and chase walleyes, if you wake up to a hot bright sunny day with no wind then fish in the mornings and evenings for whatever is biting, during the middle of the day , find a nice beach and go for a swim, have a picnic lunch, bring a blow up tube, and pull him around, the thing is, if the fish aren't cooperating, then time to do something different. i've been bringing my 4 daughters to Canada since they where babies, they love it, but I never got stressed if we were'nt hammering them, just take what mother nature gives you.

[wallydave]

My boat/cabin buddy has a pair of sons he has taken up north fishing. Goose Bay has wireless internet for thier laptop. Also, they took along some toys to use to make into "fishing lures" The making of the lures was one way of keeping them busy when the fish weren't biting. Thier dad is a science teacher, he gave them a biology lesson while cleaning fish for supper. Our last trip to Goose Bay was a couple of years ago, the waether was warmer than usual, the lake was as high as we have ever seen it, when our usual hot spots weren't working we tried a lot of different spots and methods, more trolling and casting than jigging, when jigging wasn't working. I guess you will have to be adaptable to the conditions. I took my high school aged son to Goose Bay several years ago, we talked, fished and shared the books we read when we were off the water. It is a good thing to teach your children to fish and appeciate nature! Hopefully the fishing will be ON the whole time for your trip!

I have taken both my kids to Canada since they were 9.

Good advice above. Here are some things that worked for me

a) You have recognized the key thing, kids of that age don't fish as long as we do. So even in the boat, take stuff for them to do. My boy at 9 love to play with his cars and his soldiers, so they went to. My daughter liked to paint, so water colors and paper were in the boat.. As my kids got older, they got impromtu biology lessons, including disection of perch and walleyes, even as we fished. A couple of little perch to cut up kept them occupied for 15 - 20 minutes.

b. Don't be afraid to just let them take naps. The first day of the first time up, I forgot this lesson and kept after them to do something..."come on, they are biting now..." After finally figuring out that they were just listening to their bodies, I just enjoyed those moments of quite. Eventually, it got to the point where my son would take a nap but keep deep sticking a jig/minnow and there were times I swear he out-fished those of us "working hard to catch fish."

c. Don't forget toliet paper and lots of up. Finally, yes, we can pee over the side of the boat, but if they don't want to, you really don't lose that much time by going to shore.

d. Go to the middle of the lake and let them drive the boat for a couple of minutes (of course you are right there with them). Anything you can do to make them feel like part of the team is important.

e. Building on the above, let them pick the fishing spots at times. Sure, it may not be the ideal place, but again, make them a part of the team

f. Find stuff to look at not only when fishing, but on the ride up. It can be a long trip and you need to remember that while you can drive 12 hours while thinking about the fish you are going catch, they cannot. Stop for all kinds of stuff, like the big Walleye in Minnesota, the waterfalls if you are going up next to Lake Superior, etc.

g. Take lots of snacks in the boat. Remember, you are on vacation so the week before you go, let them go to the grocery store and pick out all the junk food you and their mother say no to for 51 weeks a year. This is vacation, make it special

h. When fishing gets slow and they are taking a break playing in the boat, pull the old trick of "hold my pole for me." I would say this after I hooked a fish really good, then I let out a bit of line, and asked somebody to hold my pole while I did something in the tackle box or with the boat. Once in a while the fish would get unhooked, but 9 times out of 10, there would be a shout of excitment and they would have a fish on! Took my kids about 3 years to figure out this game.

i. Also, buy them their own tackle box and put some lures in it. The best thing I did with my son was buy a tackle box filled with lures from e-bay. He would spend hours looking at and getting it ready to go, then spend hours casting everything in the box. When he was 11 years old at Lac Suel, we were on a great walleye jig bite. He decides to play in his tackle box, finds a purple Wiggle Wort, puts it on his leader and gets ready to cast. Of course me being the expert tells him it will never catch anything. First case, reels about four cranks, FISH ON, and that fish turns out to be a 30 1/4 inch Master Angler Walleye. So, my lesson, was let them have fun, do things I think are wrong, and remember, let them be kids.

Do the above and hopefully you will have a fishing partner for life. I now have two despite my mistakes.

All the best, IA Walleye

[ohiojmj]

Spend some time casting mepps, spoons, or spinnerbait for pike in the cabbage weeds for pike.

[Walleye_Wrangler]

dbqwalleye, Great post. One of the best I've seen. Thanks!

[tiz]

Thank you for all the great ideas and suggestions. That is truly what makes fishing such a great sport. I wish it was a 12 hour drive. We will be heading north from Atlanta, GA so almost 25 hours. Thanks again and have a great week.

[Babamel2]

Just as a precaution, I would get a letter signed by a parent (one that is not going on the trip) stating that it is OK to take the child to Canada and list the times and places you will be going. Then have it notarized. This may be overkill but better safe than sorry. the Boarder people are very concerned about child trafficking. The letter could save a lot of time and aggrivation at the boarder

Yes, to the letter. I have always done that and the Border Guards light up (as in smiles) when I provide that along with our passports.

The letter comes from the spouse not along stating that you (the other parent) have permission to take the minor (child) across the border. In my letter I give where we are crossing, where we are staying along with contact info, the dates of the stay, and where/when we are crossing back into the US.

Also, the letter is notorized and stamped to make sure it is official.

Like I said, I give that to the Border Guards, and they are very pleased to see somebody following the letter of the law. I have never been delayed at the border for a closer inspection and I think some of that has to do with me providing the above document.

The drive from Atlanta will be a long one. Not sure where you are going, but if your heading for northwest ontario, that is a 23 hour drive from Atlanta to International Falls, plus the rest of the way into Canada. I would have car equipped with a DVD player or bring a portable player with lots of movies and games, because that is a very long time for any kid to sit. Remember ear phones for the child so you don't have to listen to movie/game.

Good luck. If your son has not fished much or away from home much, perhaps a first spring trip to one of the great bluegill/crappie lakes in Tenn might be a good first fishing trip. Less expensive and closer to home if things don't go well. Either way, enjoy....IAWalleye