Quote:I'm about to take my kids fishing for the first time (6 and 8.)

 

Any advice or suggestions on what might make a good trip?

 

I'm used to lake fishing from private property in VA, so I'm less than novice at fishing NEFL.  About all I know is I need a license (separate salt and fresh), but they don't.  And I don't have access to a boat, either.

 

Any/all advice appreciated, especially with a sense of humor.

 

It depends on what you want to do as far as fresh water vs. salt water.  I can't help you much regarding salt water as I haven't done much salt water fishing in years.

 

When it comes to fresh water, you have a few options when fishing from the bank.  The "easiest" and best approach if you're taking kids to fish is to get either some worms or some crickets, and fish along the river or in one of the many retention ponds around.  A simple rig consists of a bobber of some sort (small) and a hook.  Don't concentrate on casting out as far as you can, rather cast closer to the bank.  Doing this would enable you to catch multiple species of "bream" (blue gill, sun fish, etc.) as well as the occasional large mouth bass.

 

Keep in mind, you are dealing with kids who are very young and will quickly get disinterested if nothing is happening.  I would stay away from artificial lures or techniques until they get a bit older.  Fishing for bream is usually pretty easy and productive.

 

One word of caution though, I would not keep or consume any fish caught out of a retention pond or even in the river around the Jacksonville area.

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