krayfish2
Well-known member
Teach them as many knots as they can absorb. I did that with my nephews and it made them self sufficient. I'd take over if we needed to get it done quickly but they managed to do it on their own more times than not.
dudemanspecial
Well-known member
I do work with them on this stuff, but kids all pick things up at different paces. With my kids, if they have to sit on the bank and fumble with knots then it makes for a short day. As time goes on they will see me doing things and want to copy me, but for now if I can make it so they can add tippet from a ring and if the whole leader tangles to just pull a new one out of the pack and get back to it then it makes the day go much better.
Like I said in an earlier post, my 2 boys both love to fish but thats about all they have in common. My 16 year old son will probably never want to tie blood knots. I can see my 10 year old building his own leaders within a few years.
dudemanspecial
Well-known member
I guess I should correct myself by saying my kids aren't total beginners. Saying they are far from beginners is a stretch. They actually enjoy bass and panfish poppers more than anything. The trout streams are a work in progress for them.
But they can cast well enough and understand drifting / retrieving well enough to catch fish. Fussing with knots and tangles are a different story at this point still.
6xAdams(Jones)
Well-known member
A long time ago, after I tied a tippet onto one of my boy's leaders, he hooked and broke off a fish. It was debatable where the leader broke - at "my" knot or one of a few ever-present wind knots. (He false-casted like he was directing a concert band.) The mutual decision was that we would each tie our own knots from then on.
JeremyW
Active member
I only use tippet rings on my euro rig, otherwise it's a new leader or surgeons knot... I guess the tippet rings work most of the time with larger flies, but on the real small ones on light tippet I've had a hard time getting them to turn over.
dudemanspecial
Well-known member
Yeah I definitely won't be having them fish midges or anything like that. Think 12-14 caddis with a dropper.
