Braden Durick, the author’s son, in 2016 when he was six years old.
This was the day Braden discovered that catfishing is amazing.
Catfishing With Kids
Story and photos by Brad Durick
It is vital to get kids introduced to fishing and the outdoors. We must get them started early and kee[ them interested. After that we must let them develop at their own pace so they don’t burn out.
It is critical to the future of fishing that we share our passions with our kids and, if possible, other people’s kids. In this day, it seems that phones and games are more important to our youths than the outdoors, and our youngsters are missing so much of life. Fishing is one of the great joys that I almost missed, and I am thankful every day that I picked it up later in life before it was too late.
While I started fishing in my early 20s, I was not going to let that happen to my own son, Braden. I also was not going to force him to love fishing with the chance of making him hate it. I was fortunate to have two lessons from other parents before my son was born to lead me in the right direction.
The first lesson was while fishing with a friend of mine and his son. We would go walleye fishing (because we live in walleye country) and he would take his 12-year-old boy with us. If fishing was slow and the boy got bored, he would put his rod down and just sit there—sometimes with a video game or a book. My friend would yell at him, “We are here to fish, so get fishing.” Over time, the boy went fishing with us less and less, and now that he is an adult, I can’t remember if I have seen him fish at all in the last decade.
The second lesson was right after my boy was born. I stopped at an in-store event where some professional anglers were making appearances on behalf of their sponsors. One saw me with the stroller and knew I am an avid angler. He told me to “not burn him out early.” He went on to tell me when his kids were little, he was trying to make it as a professional angler and, on weekends, he would pack the kids up before sunrise and fish all day with them in the boat. By the time they were 10, they had learned to hate fishing, and neither of them fish any more. This one was the best lesson for when my boy got bigger.
Starting My Kid Out
Remembering the two lessons from above, I made it a point to not burn Braden out and not force him to fish. I took him in the boat even as a baby for short rides, and if he took a nap in the carrier, I fished a little. When he was two, an hour in the boat usually meant riding around for a little while and putting it back on the trailer.
It was when he was three that I started bringing my friend’s teenage daughter with who liked to play with little kids. They would fish together then have snacks and play little games in the boat. Now I could fish for two or three hours with no issue. Also, at age three, while fishing with his little kid’s rod, Braden hooked a walleye and reeled it in by himself. That was a pivotal moment because he knew he could do it.
Armed with lots of snacks, we went fishing often, but for a few couple more years, nothing over four hours just to prevent burnout. Braden would hold his rod when we fished for smaller fish, and we would push the rod into the Driftmaster rod holder so he could reel in catfish.
Over time, as he progressed as an angler and decided that he liked fishing, we extended the hours on the water and amount of days we went. Before I knew it, I was the one wanting to go home for dinner and hearing, “just a few more fish”.
Braden is now 14 years old and a heck of an angler. He has a great walleye touch, enjoys bass fishing and knows exactly what to do in a catfish boat. He does anchor duty, nets catfish with the best of them and has been casting baitcast rigs for at least five years now.
The love of fishing has bitten this one. When I am on long guiding stretches, he gets up early and has me drop him off via boat at hard-to-reach shore spots so he can fish there while I am working. I then come back and pick him up. He also fishes with a friend of mine in the Red River Valley Catfish League on Wednesdays.
Kids Are Not All the Same
All kids are different and progress in angling at different paces. Being a guide, I deal with all levels of children in the boat. Some seven-year-olds can take the rod and show catfish who is boss. Some are scared of the fish, and others just simply run out of gas at about the three-hour mark.
I have also seen teenagers that can’t handle a day of fishing or are just simply bored and there because their parents want to be. Most are ready to get fishing and know exactly what to do. If they don’t, with a little coaching they pick it up very quickly.
There truly is no better gift than fishing with the family in my opinion. It has been such a joy watching my son learn to love fishing and the outdoors, and I take pride in giving other people’s kids a taste of what it has to offer to hopefully entice them into a lifetime of outdoor enjoyment.
(Captain Brad Durick is a nationally recognized catfish guide on the Red River of the North, seminar speaker, and author of the books Cracking the Channel Catfish Code and Advanced Catfishing Made Easy. For more information go to redrivercatfish.com.)
