You either got it or u dont!

[1fish@atime]

Any time you step out of your personal comfort zone, there is a learning curve. I changed my primary targets three years ago. I know I could go back to what I know and catch fish. Not why I do this. The guys here have given some great advice. Read it, accept that we don't all have to have"it".  If you do have to have "it" then find it, nurture it, and enjoy it with your son. Like my son said to me one day while we were pike fishing, something I'm not good at but love to do. He was having a blast catching small perch for bait while we waited for a bite. He looked at me after about three hours with no hits. Well at least I'm catching fish dad. He didn't care what kind, or how many, or how big. He just was enjoying being there with me. We sometimes put so much emphasis on the result, we forget how important the journey to the result is.

[H.T.]

Hey phead lakeman...... Come fish with me on Oneida ......You will feel like Roland frickin Martin !

that is a good one stormy

[trapper2000]

phead  non of us catch fish everytime (except me  but i hate  bragging)  want to  have fun with a child  ,  then  i suggest panfish ,  bbluesgills  or rockbass  it don't matter as long as  fish are biting ..... make  it  fun  everytime  weather  joking or playing   stopping at mc  donalds after  ...  make it fun!!!!  and  make sure the little one  hears you  brag  about his abilitys after ....example   wife ask how you did  tell her i  did  bad  but  thank god my  little partner  was there to save the  day!!!!!  after  talk about fishing with  the  child  and listen  be excited  with him .......... catching fish  is a small part of what you teaching the child, team work , family, bonding, sportsmenship,pride,and building memorys  is  the  big catch here.....  good luck and keep us posted

[Hollywood]

Any time you step out of your personal comfort zone, there is a learning curve. I changed my primary targets three years ago. I know I could go back to what I know and catch fish. Not why I do this. The guys here have given some great advice. Read it, accept that we don't all have to have"it".  If you do have to have "it" then find it, nurture it, and enjoy it with your son. Like my son said to me one day while we were pike fishing, something I'm not good at but love to do. He was having a blast catching small perch for bait while we waited for a bite. He looked at me after about three hours with no hits. Well at least I'm catching fish dad. He didn't care what kind, or how many, or how big. He just was enjoying being there with me. We sometimes put so much emphasis on the result, we forget how important the journey to the result is.

I like this! We moved to this area when I was 13. I grew up fishing finger lakes trout but we were so close to Oneida Dad decided we were going to learn walleye fishing. We learned it together and it was a SLOW and often very frustrating several years. Then we finally figured out that walleye's aren't trout, don't act like trout and we weren't ever going to catch them well on our trout tactics. One tactic at a time we've gotten better (and we learned TOGETHER)  Your kid won't think you know diddly about squat til he's in his 20's anyway!

[iceplank]

a ton of info on this thread already. i keep a log and note temps winds lures. etc, i like the advice about the comfort zone. it takes time to get the hang of things. each year i have a few or a bunch of times when i crush fish but i always have days when i get slapped in the face also. i mean bigtime!!!! you try to adapt and figure out what your doing wrong. i like to read, watch infisherman series and also pick other fishermen's brains if possible. BUT- the most important thing is too keep at it and try different things. sometime the fish just dont want to play and you can go back to the exact same place the next day and you think you are ready for your own outdoor channel series..they are only fish, if you keep at it they will not avoid us all the time!!!! bow hunting is my favorite thing to do!!! cirucumstances and sometimes my own decisions have prevented me from killing a big buck. no bucks at all in several years. But i love it..."success" or "failures" not withstanding.people are always like"did you kill a deer". "wow you keep going and dont get anything" "why?'.  if yu love it, do it.

[larz]

it also helps if you think like a fish and understand what they are feeding on and where, if you are on a lake where do the streams and /or rivers enter the lake. I also like to pay attention to the topography of the shoreline steep banks normally mean deeper water, watch the surface too if you  see minnows running just below surface or on surface you can bank something is chasing them, I also always take some live bait too.Buy in fisherman magazine.time on the water and learn to read the water too.

[phead lakeman]

wow guys! Great work by all of u! Im very impressed so many people were willing to give information hitting so many different points of my story. NOt only the fact i need advice and tips on how to catch fish, i felt the site needed more informational topics that people could learn from or share their knowledge. Im exhausted right now so i kinda skimmed threw some of them. But what i did read was some really good stuff. IM looking forward to reading every single post and im gonna look into that infisherman book series. I use to read so much on fishing and i need to start up again. MY child is 4 and should be ready to fish with me in the next year or two.

[prchslyr]

Nah Man! You're good to go imo.
Try out a 1/2 hour trip the first time. If it totally sucks, give it a year or so.
My 5 year old can bait a fathead without killing it every time now. I even have a hard time at that.
We're still having issues with tying his shoes. At least we have our priorities straight!

[1fish@atime]

Bwah ha ha, good stuff Slyr.
Was thinking about your backpack post. I started Tyler in one. We made it about halfway into a pond, when this warm sensation ran down my back. Yup, warm and wet.... Back to the truck... He must have said sorry Daddy about 30 times on the ride home. We agreed on a signal next time if he had to go.... Like Dad I GOT TO GO!!

[Jimmy]

Law of averages, man!   Get out as often as you can, and you will surely catch more fish...

Best advice?  Buy a little house on a lake so you can fish at least twice a day.  You will learn a ton. 

Or just keep hanging with the boys at Pecks.  They might not be Bass Pros, but they can get you some photos with a few of the stocked fish before they release 'em.  Show those off and you're golden!

[ICE ADDICT]

I've been keeping log books for many years, and as previously stated, after a while you start to see patterns emerge.

I'm a firm believer in doing a LOT of reading! I'm pretty much self taught, so this was my only source of info. If you have friends who are willing to give some pointers, bay all means, pay attention. ALWAYS keep your eyes and ears open far any information you can gather in the field. But make no mistake, just cause something works well for someone else does NOT necessarily mean it's going to work for you. I think most fisherman have a strong point, be it jigging, crankin', trolling, floatin' etc. The ultimate is to MASTER ALL aspects of the sport, but thats a pretty lofty goal to attain, mainly due to time restraints. Fishings pretty elemental if you ask me, if you learn the habits and rituals of fish you will understand where, when, why, and how. FIRST you need to be ON fish, then figure out what they want, and how they want it. That reminds me of an old formula first published by In-Fisherman, F + L + P = S.    Fish + Location + Presentation = Success. It may sound hoaky but that formula is all thats involved in the catching of fish. Just do your homework, put it all together and the fruits of your labor will follow. After a while, whatever time of year it is, you'll know exactly WHERE to go, WHAT to use, and HOW to use it, then fishing will be almost second nature to you.

There are no majic pills, or secret weapons, the only way to get good at ANYTHING, is by trial and error, and MANY, MANY hours spent mastering your craft, regardless of what that craft may be.

[1fish@atime]

Like today while walking the 5 miles to my moms. Along the way a gentleman wading in the river in front of my old house was fly fishing. He was whipping it to a frazzle. So I watched for a while, then asked "the" question. He said a few, dang few. While walking up the road there were a ton of small brown flies on the shoulder of the road along the river. So as we were talking I was inventorying his flies on his vest. Pointed to one that looked very much like the ones on the road. Said try that one, fish it wet like an emerger. He tied it on, waded back out and cast. Drifted about 5' and wham, 16" brown. He smiled real broad and said hey thanks. You live around here? Kind of, for almost 50 years now.

[Issiah]

Keep a positive mind set; negative thinking will often keep you from catching fish. 

[1fish@atime]

You got that part down Issiah. Seems the times when I caught the best fish were on days when I had no real expectations. Was there for the sake of being with friends or my boy or something. Wasn't really fishing to prove anything, didn't have to. You catch some really great fish, but after spending the day on the water with you, I know you don't feel you are any better a fisherman than anyone else is. You just enjoy being there, the fish are the bonus.
Great way to be!

[NYBeastFisher]

yeah man. Im gonna say time on the water all day. Time time time............