Woo Daves said it best, "you will rarely ever find a kid in juvenile detention or in jail that has a hunting or fishing license in his pocket."  Seems like kind of an odd statement, but the more I think about, the more truth I find in his words.

I consider myself to be a good example, I grew up with a fishing pole in my hand, I never remember not loving to fish and I have spent a fare amount of time hunting growing up as well.  Sure I have made my mistakes, but no real brushes with the law of any magnitude.  I thank my father for giving me the opportunity to learn and love the great outdoors.  That's probably why my friends were always so much better at video games than I was.  I am not sure how well those video game skills serve them these days anyways J  My father never forced me to go fishing, but always extended the opportunities, I am not sure I ever said "No."

The great thing about today is that there are more & more great opportunities fro young kids to become involved in fishing.  Bass fishing organizations have established programs like CastingKids & Jr. Bass Clubs that make it easy and inexpensive for kids to get involved.

CastingKids events are completely free and happen all year long all over the country.  You can find schedules online.  CastingKids is a free casting clinic and contest that teaches kids (ages 7-14) different casting techniques and then allows them to compete fro prizes and scholarships.

There are more and more Jr. Bass Clubs popping up all over the United States, these clubs introduce kids to the fun of competitive fishing as well as teaching them about everything from lure selection to seasonal patterns of fishing.  I only wish there were these types of clubs when I was young.  I ad to wait until I was 16 to join an adult club & most of the guys I fished against were in their 40's.  Most events happen during the summer when kids are out of school and have the time to participate.  Kids fish with adult bass club members out of their boat.

So do your children a favor and introduce them to the great sport of fishing.  It could be an hour of fishing at the local fishing pier or a CastingKids event at the mall one weekend; there are lots of ways to test the water.  They may never turn out to be as passionate about the sport as I am, but I doubt they will regret the experiences or the opportunity to learn more about the great outdoors.  

See another "Take a kid fishing" article
Also Checkout Gopher Jr. Bassmasters