Hook, Line And Child
Sydney Morning Herald
Saturday September 26, 1998
Fishing can be one of the cheapest ways of keeping the kids amused during the holidays.
YOU'VE got three days left in the resort town of your choice, you're running out of spending money, there's nothing new on TV and the children are threatening mutiny if you drag them to one more culturally uplifting free show. What to do?
Murder's out, so why not try fishing? It's the most popular recreational sport in the country, for good reason. You can do it just about anywhere and spend as much or as little as your pocket permits. You can do it at almost any time of the day and in almost any weather.
The thrill of the hunt, coupled with a huge boost to kids' self-esteem when they actually catch something (and just wait till they catch something big enough to keep and eat!), makes fishing a winner, something that will amuse kids for days on end.
If you've never been fishing and can't imagine how it could sustain the attention of a child, let alone an adult, think of it as an open-air school where every lesson can be fun. With a bit of guidance from you, your kids will learn about tides, life cycles, ecology, renewable resources and all manner of fascinating creepy-crawlies and slithery things, as well as improving their dexterity (tying knots) and coordination (casting). The essential skills are all well within the capacity of a six-year-old, so there's no reason you shouldn't be able to master them in a morning and provide the necessary guidance.
If your pocket extends to the odd indulgence, hire a boat for a morning and try to hook a flathead or a feed of whiting as you drift gently through the shallows. Or venture out in canoes and claim a quiet creek as your very own. (Fishing from a boat towards the snaggy bank of a river has the drop on fishing from the bank, as any fish hooked are pulled away from the snaggy retreats to which instinct would guide them.)
What appeals to me most about fishing is that it requires - and rewards - engagement with the environment. Instead of simply veging out in the sun, kids, with a bit of encouragement, start seeing the beach or estuary as a unique habitat, and discover how its various denizens prey on or depend upon each other. They'll start to notice how some fish face upstream and hold their position against the current as they wait for food to be washed down by the receding tide and will learn to spot flathead and rays half-buried in the sand.
Whether you're tramping along a stream in the Snowies or paddling along a pristine mangrove-lined creek on the coast, fishing lends new perspective to the countryside. For some, what is at first a simple holiday amusement will develop into a hobby and, ultimately, a lifelong interest.
The best part is, you'll rarely have to travel more than a few kilometres from your holiday base to find a perfect spot to drop a line. Chances are you'll only have to cross a road and walk a few metres along an embankment. And if you do a little bit of research before heading out, you'll usually find a spot where the kids can swim while they take a break, play in a riverside park, or help gather wood for a barbie.
If your kids read reasonably well you could buy them one of a multitude of simply written and easily followed guides to fishing. Failing that, you can browse through one yourself and become an instant font of knowledge (but make sure you learn to tie a knot properly if you don't want to die of embarrassment). And be sure to tap that prime source of local knowledge, the fishing tackle shop. The resident guru can sell you a starter kit, show you how to tie a knot, tell you where the tiddlers are biting, and advise on what bait to use. Most can supply a complimentary tide chart (essential equipment) and I've yet to meet one who doesn't hand out, free, a simple map showing where various kinds of fish can be found.
So where do you start? Whether your kids are four or 14, make a beeline for the quiet ebb and flow of an estuary, the natural nursery for young anglers. Skip the surf beaches because good results there are linked to specialised equipment and well-honed skills. Avoid breakwalls and rocks exposed to tidal surges: they're too dangerous for kids and they're no place to learn how to fish. And until you and your kids have mastered the essentials, avoid fast tidal flows at the mouths of rivers and harbours. And fish light ... light line with small hooks will maximise your kids' chances of catching something.
Fortunately, NSW is blessed with a string of estuary resorts where kids can fish in safety and comfort. These are just a few of the spots my children have enjoyed over the years:
Burrill Lake: Easy access north and south of the Princes Highway five kilometres south of Ulladulla, and plenty of room for the kids to play or swim as well. Best fished with rods as there are few places to drop a handline directly into deeper water. There are a couple of places you can hire boats (always take sunscreen, hats and ample water whenever you head out in a boat).
Lake Illawarra: Ditto, 14 kilometres south of Wollongong, though the quality of fishing varies greatly according to how long the lake has been closed off from the sea. Kids have a whale of a time catching leatherjacket from the southern wall of the lake entrance at Windang. Boat hire on the northern side, west of the highway.
The Entrance: Safe, easy access off both the north and south walls, though dredging has made the fishing somewhat erratic. Boats available for hire, but be wary of heading out into Tuggerah Lake - a modest wind can whip up a very unpleasant chop and ruin your day.
Camden Haven: Great spot for kids 35 kilometres south of Port Macquarie. Long, safe wall on the north of the entrance, good for beginners at slack tide though rods necessary to minimise snags. Further upstream there are numerous spots to fish and picnic.
Port Macquarie: The perfect estuary. Endless safe foreshores where you can picnic, barbecue, and fish till the pelicans come home. Several places to hire boats (try Settlement Point Boatshed for the best prices), but pop into Ned Kelly's Bait & Tackle on Gordon Street for the best advice and bait that's dynamite on bream.
Nambucca Heads/Coffs Harbour: Every creek along the North Coast is angler's heaven, but if you've got kids you want convenience and easy access, and these two offer them in spades. There can be no better place to learn to fish - and feel like a champion after a day. Coffs Harbour Tackle Supply in Orlando Street will even hire out rods - an admirable novelty.
Getting started
Taking kids fishing needn't cost the Earth. As long as you tie a solid knot, and use fresh bait, you can catch fish cheaply.
Two of the most popular brands, Shimano and Jarvis Walker, have good basic rod and reel starter kits for less than $55. Some include booklets on getting started, tying knots and identifying your catch. Don't be tempted by very cheap sets: you may end up with equipment that is difficult to handle, putting the kids off what should have been fun.
You'll also need a pack of small round sinkers (not splitshot), some swivels and a couple of packs of hooks (No 12 baitholders for leatherjacket or mullet, and some No 4 longshanks that will take a bream, whiting or flathead). Until you master that lot there's no point buying more. One of the cheapest quick guides available is the pocket tide almanac sold in tackle shops. It lists basic rigs, tells how to identify common fish, how to target them, etc. A steal at about $5.
If $60 is more than you can manage, a simple handline kit, sold by most tackle shops, is far cheaper, and immense fun because every nibble is felt instantly, and even a tiddler feels like Moby Dick. Or buy a 200m reel of nylon line - 2kg-3kg will do - and make up your own.
Then buy some fresh prawns from a tackle shop for bait (for best results peel the shell off), or treat yourself to a couple of beachworms (they'll cost a dollar a piece, but you only need a tiny piece on a small hook to make whiting and bream suspend normal evasive behaviour). And, hey, you were changing nappies just a few years ago, so what's wrong with a nice, clean worm?
Find a nice breakwall somewhere inside a quiet estuary, or perch yourself where you can cast into and alongside a deeper tidal channel running through sandbanks, and start fishing. Just learn to tie a decent locked bloodknot so your hook does not fall off as soon as an unwary bream snaffles the bait.
Now all you have to do is wait for someone to pull in a fish. Admire the catch, then bung it back with minimal fuss. Always wet your hands before handling fish that are to be returned. And be warned, some fish have sharp spikes that can hurt like blazes. If you keep a fish, be kind: kill it quickly. Twist the head up and back sharply, snapping the neck (it may help to imagine you're Sly Stallone or Chuck Norris). Or rap it sharply on the head with a blunt object.
Do's...
* Make sure your kids respect the en-vironment they fish in. Learn and observe the limits on size and numbers of fish that may be kept, and explain
why they are necessary to preserve our fisheries.
* Supervise children until they're old enough to behave responsibly. Hooks and sinkers flying around indiscriminately are a danger to everyone.
* Read foreshore signs and observe warnings. When fishing or bait-gathering is banned, there's invariably a good reason.
* Children under 16 do not need NSW fishing licences. But unless you merely supervise their fishing, buy a licence.
Don'ts...
* If you love your kids, never take them fishing from rocks exposed to swells and tidal surge.
* Leave nothing behind. Your rubbish can harm wildlife.
* Don't encourage kids to chase bag limits; never keep more fish or collect more bait than you need. Fisheries are renewable, not limitless, resources.
© 1998 Sydney Morning Herald