Finally got a day off of work Wednesday and I'm planning a fun day taking my 3 yr. old Grandson to Ray Hubbard. Should I try for bream using wax worms or cut worms or should we try minnows for sandies? Are the sandies schooling? Thanks for any advice. I really want him to experience catching a fish by himself.

Bob, will you be fishing from shore or from a boat?

I say cat fishing is the way to go. I took my 2 girls (ages 2 and 5) out a few weeks ago to a small pond in Rockwall at Harry Meyers Park. We caught 10 catfish in about 2 hours.

The small pond next to the baseball field is loaded every year with catfish, and there is a fishing derby for the kids in October every year at that pond.

Nitro, Thanks,I have a boat.

Not a bad idea either. Thanks

I say take it all, and lots of snacks, have fun, explore and play. and fish a little, and play some more, have fun with with him..I'd go the perch route myself.

Minnows for sandbass ought to be a good game plan if you have a boat & can locate the fish fairly quick. You might even get him interested in slabbing once he's put some fish in the boat, although I would strongly urge you to replace the treble with a barbless single hook!

Bob, you can use slabs for some sand bass fishing. It's fairly easy to locate and catch them right now and he'll love it. The winds are forecasted to be 5 mph on Wednesday and with steady weather, falling pressure & warm temps all week, the fishing should be very good. If you don't have or know of any spots, send me a PM and I'll help out with what little I know. BTW, when fishing for sandbass, I pinch the barbs and clip off one of the three hooks. This way the fish come off easier and if you should, god forbid, bury a hook in some part of your body, it comes right back out. In any case, I hope you and your son have a blast

I think the biggest thing that I have found out when fishing with my little guy is to not try to fish yourself, and trust me its hard to do. I stay with him and teach him how to do everything and devote all my attention to his fishing and he and I working together to catch fish. That being said there is alot of things on the lake that will catch his attention and if the fish are not biting make sure you have something for him to do. I bought some little plastic boats at Wally world and tied string to them and we towed them around behind the boat for awhile with the trolling motor. Have lots of snacks and maybe a couple of his little trucks and stuff. Once you put fish in the livewell he will be VERY interested in watching them and how the water goes in and pretty much the whole setup. So if any you guys see a boat going around the lake with their trolling motor and boats being towed about ten feet behind it with a little boy jerking on them, well thats me. Good Luck and I am sure you both will enjoy it.

Yep, Get on Fish and let those little ones slab vertically.

If they get tried of catching fish - LEAVE Quick - don't over do it with them - if they get disinterested catching fish - call it quites - don't over do them (just read them - you will know when they are done),

Excellent advice guys. Thank you all very much! Hopefully, I'll get a picture of him and a fish!

Thanks again for the tips. We took him out this morning a little late, but managed to catch a few and that made the trip a big success!


Here he is landing a sandbass:



Convinced him to hold it:



A small hybrid. All fish were released. Caught a little catfish as well on a Rattle trap!

Happy to see ya'll had success! I hope he had a great time!

Perfect. Nice job. I got a 2 year old. Looking forward to getting him started as well.