Spin (bait) fishing is simple and inexpensive recreation, making it a high-reward, low-barrier activity for the whole family, including anyone with limited mobility or neuro-diverse or sensory needs. Time spent at a lake as well as repetitive, predictable fishing tasks are calming.

Basic gear and lake access is all that’s needed. Here are three ideas for your family to get started with this lifetime sport.

How to Get Started

1. Learn the Basics

Casting from the bank or a dock is easier than wrangling kids into a boat. Fundamental skills include learning how to cast a spinning-reel rod, set the drag, and set the hook. (Fly fishing requires different gear and skills, so it’s best to take a class and do lots of casting practice before heading to a lake or river.)

Recommended resources: Idaho Fish & Game “Learn To Fish”; Trout Unlimited; and The International Game Fish Association (free online course for youth/beginners).

2. Visit a Family-Friendly, Fish-Stocked Lake

In Spokane County, good choices include Fish Lake, West Medical Lake, and Lake Spokane. In north Idaho, visit Round or Cocolalla Lakes. (Find more recommendations in the OTO story archives.)

Check online for your region’s fish and game schedule for stocking local lakes with hatchery-raised fish. Thousands of rainbow trout are stocked in lakes every spring and summer in Washington and Idaho.

Fishing with Kids: Chatcolet Lake – dock at Hawley’s Landing in Heyburn State Park, near Plummer, Idaho (left). // Photo: Amy McCaffree; Fishing derby at Klink’s Resort on Williams Lake, near Cheney, WA (right). // Photo courtesy Klink’s Resort.

3. Attend a Youth Fishing Event

Idaho Department of Fish and Game has a traveling “Take Me Fishing” Trailer that visits various lakes throughout spring and summer. All equipment, bait, and instruction is provided, and no fishing license is required while the trailer is on-site. Upcoming visits at Panhandle locations during May and June include Post Falls Park Pond, Hauser Lake, Round Lake, Cocolalla Lake, and Rose Lake. More information at Idfg.idaho.gov/fish/trailers.

Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife also hosts fishing events for kids including an annual event in May at Clear Lake, 16 miles west of Spokane. The registration fee includes a rod and reel for kids to take home too and a t-shirt.

Gear & Events

Where to Buy Fishing Supplies

Support locally-owned Inland Northwest businesses that sell fishing supplies, including The General Store in Spokane, General Store Outpost (Spokane Valley), and Silver Bow Fly Shop and Swede’s Fly Shop (all in Spokane); North 40 Outfitters (multiple locations); and Orvis Northwest Outfitters and Fins & Feathers Tackle Shop (both in Coeur d’Alene).

Free Fishing Days

In most states, children under age 14-15 don’t need a fishing license. For Washington State, those age 15 and older must purchase a fishing license, and younger children can fish regardless of if a parent has a state license. Idaho, meanwhile, requires a non-resident parent to buy a state license in order for a non-resident child, age 13 and younger, to fish. (Idaho requires fishing licenses for ages 14 and older.)

Take advantage of free fishing days, when all ages can fish without purchasing a license. Here are the dates for 2022:

• Montana: Mother’s Day and Father’s Day holiday weekends (May 7-8 and June 18-19).
• Oregon: First weekend in June (June 4–5).
• Idaho: Second Saturday in June (June 11).
• Washington: Free fishing weekend, always the second full weekend in June (June 11-12)—also a Discover Pass fee-free day, including DNR boat launches.

Find events for other states at Takemefishing.org.

More Tips for Fishing with Kids

Wear life jackets. It’s best practice for children to wear a correct-fitting life jacket for dock fishing, even if not planning to get on a boat or other watercraft. Northwest waters are chilly even on hot summer days.Life jacket laws vary by state. In Idaho, children age 14 and younger are required to wear one at all times while on a watercraft. In Washington state, the age requirement is 12 and younger. Many recreation areas have a life jacket loaner station, including popular lakes in north Idaho and eastern Washington.

Practice environmental stewardship. Teach kids how (and why) to minimize their impact on aquatic habitat and the plants and animals that live there.

The post Fishing with Kids: 3 Ways to Get Started appeared first on Out There Venture.

I thrive on variety and change, so this time of year I’m eager to enjoy the dependable delights of spring—consecutive sunny days, songbirds, the return of leaves to naked trees, the first green shoots in my perennial garden, robins hunting for worms in my yard, the chitter-chatter of squirrels.

Spring feels like a reset. No matter how much of a screen-addict, couch-potato, or snow-hater one may have been all winter, spring inspires us to spend more time outdoors.

Here are some spring rituals and routines that my kids and I have established over the years that help us celebrate and get ready for the season.

1. Hang out in hammocks. 

Whether you hang between trees in your backyard or enjoy them at a park, hammocks are a fast-track to chill time.

My family has ENO brand hammocks, which are easy to set up and have proven to be durable and comfortable. We take our hammocks on camping trips, but otherwise they stay up in our yard from spring through fall.

2. Create a whimsical outdoor living space. 

Whether it’s a patio, deck, or balcony, a few changes can create a spring oasis that encourages family members to gather. Lights create a festive ambiance to any space, and kids are intrigued by solar-powered light sets.

Add colorful Adirondack chairs, a side table, flowerpots, painted rocks—and voilà.

3. Garden together. 

Whether it’s seed starting or choosing flowers or vegetable starts from a store and transferring them into the ground or pots of soil, get your children involved in the process. They can be in charge of their own container garden and paint and personalize it to get excited.

Some ideas for kid-friendly plants that work well in the Inland Northwest climate include strawberries, marigolds, cornflowers/bachelor’s buttons, Shasta daisies, and coneflowers/Echinacea. These are simple and inexpensive, and kids can harvest the seeds from spent flowers and spread them around other areas of a garden to watch them bloom the following spring and get in on the entire growing process.

4. Plan camping trips and make reservations. 

For some campgrounds on public lands, especially with 6-month reservation windows, it may already be too late to get reservations for the dates you want. Plan mid-week trips or make a strategy to snag a first-come/first-serve (FCFS) site for a weekend stay.

I usually don’t recommend FCFS, especially when with young kids, but I see many great FCFS campsites remain empty—many with lakefront views. Arrive early and snag one. (Destination ideas: “Family-Friendly Campgrounds in North Idaho & Eastern Washington”)

5. Play and picnic at a park. 

Make a big deal out of the first really warm day of spring and visit a park. My family likes Waterfront Park at Medical Lake, west of Spokane. We bring some beach/sand toys, warm layers (for fast-changing weather conditions, like wind and clouds), and maybe even swimsuits.

My kids may only get their legs wet, but that first “hot” spring day, especially after a long winter, feels like summer to us. (More park recommendations: “10 Lakes Near Spokane For Family Day Trips”)

Waterfront Park at Medical Lake. // Photo courtesy of City of Medical Lake Parks and Recreation (left), Photo: Shallan Knowles (right).

This is my short list, but there are many more ways to celebrate spring. Create your own list with whatever works best for your family. For ideas and inspiration, search for stories from the OTO archives for recommended lake parks, biking and hiking trails, and other family-friendly spring recreation. With all the natural beauty and recreation opportunities in the Northwest, there are more ideas than days available.

Amy McCaffree is digital editor and Out There Kids columnist. She looks forward to camping during Memorial Day weekend and her first paddle of the year, with either her kayak or SUP.

The post 5 Spring Rituals for Outdoorsy Families appeared first on Out There Venture.