When the family from Connecticut showed up at the dock, young Beckett was carrying his first fishing rod: a little Zebco youth model with a closed-face reel and a Bluey cartoon motif.
They had picked it up at a big-box store on their drive to Maine. Beckett was as proud as a peacock of it. I was not nearly as confident.
We would be targeting hard-fighting smallmouth bass and I was uneasy about whether the little setup was up to the task. In the end, I did not have the heart to stop him from using it.
I steered my fishing pontoon boat into a protected cove where I knew spawning smallmouth would be stacked up along the shoreline. I gave the young angler a few tips and let him practice a few casts. Once satisfied, I rigged his little Bluey pole with a topwater popper he could cast with ease and inched us closer.
When we reached our spot, I stalled the boat and pointed to where Beckett should try his first cast. He did great and put the popper right next to a big boulder.
The clear water exploded and his Bluey rod was nearly yanked from his grip.
I got a hand on the rod and another on Beckett’s shoulder and calmed him down. The line was tight and the fish had that little Zebco bent practically in half.
With his parents cheering him on and hooting in the background, I showed him how to slowly play the fish and bring it to the net. Beckett’s first fish of his angling career, on his first cast, was a beauty: a 19-inch smallmouth heavy with eggs.
After a few pictures and fish-kissing, we released the big fish.
That trip was probably four or five years ago, but I remember it like it was yesterday. I’m sure Beckett does, too.
We have all heard the adage: It isn’t about the catching, it’s about the fishing. In my experience as a fishing guide, I have found that to be mostly true of the clients I’ve had in my boats. But as with most rules, there is bound to be an exception.
In this case, it happens when the people in your boat are first-time anglers, especially kids.
If you want to keep kids interested in fishing, you have to get them hooked fast. Spending time outdoors, away from screens and devices, can be a challenge for youngsters, which is why a kid’s first fishing experience should be a positive one.
This probably is not an earth-shattering revelation, but I think it is easy to overlook, especially for parents who are avid anglers themselves.
One etched-in-stone truism I’ve learned over the years is this: Kids just want to catch fish.
Rarely do they care what species of fish it is or how the girth measures. They usually could not care less if their catch is what some would call “trash fish” or if it was a prize native brook trout.
All they care about is that they caught it on their own.
Watching a kid’s eyes light up, wide as saucers, when the fish hits the hook is a sight that never gets old. The look on their parents’ faces is equally satisfying, smiles from ear to ear.
You have to be ready for it to happen because when it does, the excitement level in the boat skyrockets. Everyone is herky-jerky and full of energy. There are shouts and whoops and cries of “Fish on!”
The peace and calm of that afternoon suddenly erupted into a full-on fish frenzy. For a kid’s first catch, that felt just about perfect.
