Late report, ISP was down this weekend. Fished Jeff Head on Sat. with a Business Associate and his 6 yr old. What a blast! He and I got our limits on mother-of-pearl hootchies 36" behind a chrome dodger at 35 and 50 feet. The most fun was watching the 6 yr old try to reel in a silver. All were lost but we still had fun. I think it will just take time before she catches on but does anyone out there have suggestions for helping out the little one?

Man, that is a problem, isn't it? My kids have the hardest time with the barbless hooks, too. I try to help by taking the rod and making sure that there is a good hookset, then help them keep the rod tip up. I set the drag fairly light, and tell them to keep reeling no matter what. EVen then, we still lose 3/4 of the kids fish. No matter, they're still having fun.

Silver, thanks for sharing your experiences. I thought I was alone in this matter. I'll try the tight drag idea next time out with this youngster. Tight drags work against the fish but can sometimes stress the line. I try to keep my drags loose because silvers, like the other salmon species, will run when they get near the boat. That last dash, even by a 5 lb fish, can break a line like nothing.

My best tip for helping kids boat fish is to leave the kicker in gear as they play the fish. It helps guarantee that some tension remains on the line, helps prevent the fish from running across other lines or downrigger cables, and helps tire the fish out before it gets to the boat.

My compliments on letting the kids keep trying... even if they lose a few. That's the only way they'll ever learn and it shows that you know they can learn to do it completely on their own!

It's a great time to get the kids out for some humpy action. My younguns' lost a bunch of fish over the weekend, but they also caught a few. They sure were proud!

It was really great to hear the excited kids out there this weekend. It sounded like they were really having fun.

Blue Duck,

Aren’t kids great. It sure is good to get out with them and get them involved and excited about fishing. Without a doubt, they are the future of this sport.

Kids aren’t so serious; they really know how to have fun. What us ol’ codgers could teach them about fishing, they could definitely teach us about fun. To a kid, even losing a fish can be as exciting and rewarding as actually landing one. And it always seems like the one the got away was the biggest one anyway (and sure to get bigger by the year, judging by some of the stories I’ve heard grownups tell). Losing fish is just part of learning to fish, not the end of the world. The catching is often overrated but having fun rarely is. Catching fish may be the goal for all fishermen, but it still rates below having a good time and sharing it with others, catching fish or no. Anyone that thinks that having a good time fishing isn’t possible with a kid, just doesn’t know what they are missing.

One trick I have learned over the years, to assist the novice salmon fisherman in bringing a spanky silver to the net, is to just keep trolling and carefully control the position of the boat to maximize the kids’ bend in the rod and keep the fish at bay until it tires sufficiently to net it quickly. Doesn’t always work, but it also helps me to avoid the temptation to grab his rod for him too (a real no-no).

Give a kid some time to watch you reel in your fish, allow her to help you net it and let her lose some fish on her own and before you know it she's outfishing you. And if you’re really lucky, it won’t be long before she's taking you fishing too.

Kids rock!

TDICKENSON - Thanks for the trolling motor tip. I'll definitely give it a try next time out.

Mooch - Thanks for the kind words and I couldn't agree more with your point about losing a fish. Kind of like life in that occasionally you have setbacks. Best to learn how to deal with a minor failure early in life so you can handle the bigger ones later on.

I wish I could have used my own advice better...

I went out this morning to humpy hollow with a friend (not a kid!) and we got 4 total but lost 12! It's the first time I'd tried for pinks - they are tricky. We saw plenty of other lose a few but also saw boats limiting out. I'll be following any more tips that show up on this thread carefully!

Let the trailing hook run an inch or so behing the hootchie (maybe even 2 inches). Not only does it hook the fish who just comes up to get a look, it also tends to get wrapped around the mouth, gills and head. Once you've got him lasso'd, it's very unlikely that he will get away - even with barbless hooks.

Tips for kids also work for novice humpy hunters. Keep the boat in gear, it will create compstant tension on the line. Also, turn the kid 90 degrees from the stern or a little more, rod always out to the side.