Arkansas catfisherman Bobby Bowen and his granddaughters Kaitlyn (left)
and Carly making memories together on a Cache River catfishing trip.
Fishing With Kids: One Grandfather’s Advice
By Bobby Bowen (Cache River Papa)
Make fishing trips fun for your youngsters and you’ll have eager catfishing partners your entire life.
I have introduced my granddaughters Kaitlyn and Carly to the great sport of catfishing. I always make sure it is them wanting to fish and not me. If a youngster doesn’t want to go fishing, you shouldn’t make them go. You never want to burn them out early because you will miss out on some of the greatest blessings if you don’t get to fish at all with them.
My granddaughters and I go to the Cache River in eastern Arkansas, which is one of the country’s most wild and beautiful streams. We find a good shade tree in the narrow river, then anchor the boat on each end so all poles can fish downriver. The best way to start a kid, and even grown-ups, is to cast downriver, letting your bait just sit on the bottom.
The important part is having snacks and drinks ready for the kids while you wait on that catfish to get on that hook. You make it fun. I even had Carly ask if it was ok to go in her pajamas, and you know Papa said yes.
You sit and wait for that pole to wiggle, then let the kids pick it up and crank the fish in. Hearing those girls talk to the fish and bring them in is a blessing from God.
One more important part for kids: If they say, “I want to go home,” you go home. Fifteen minutes in the beginning will turn into hours later on. Don’t burn them out, and the memories will go to heaven with you.
(Bobby Bowen of Augusta, Arkansas is a lifelong catfish angler, doting grandfather and agency manager for Farm Bureau in the county where he lives.)
