Kids and ice fishing

[snowzone]

I was thinking about taking my nephew out ice fishing this year. He is only 5. Does anyone have any tips? I think the snow etc will keep his attention a little while and at least i dont have to worry about him falling over the boat!

[stickle]

if you are not catching fish, let him play in the bait bucket.

[A- bomb]

yep, lots of tips!!
1. keep it fun. i took a bunch of toy trucks and such with us
2. food as in snacks....lots of them.
3. have some shelter close as if they get cold.
4. don't plan on a long trip  LET THEM TELL YOU HOW LONG TO FISH!
5. let them pull in the fish.  tip ups are great as the flag is visual.
6. did i mention food and toys?
7. if you can get 'em on some dinks or anything its a HUGE BONUS!!
8. have fun.
serious fishing is for when your out with the guys, i now enjoy our time on the ice as my boy is 9 and helps out alot.he can't wait til he's big enough to drill his own holes....me either

[Boomer]

Have to agree with A-bomb. Keep it fun. Any size fish will do. Be sure to warn them of playing around the hole - or old holes. My son decided not to listen to his dad and fell in on his first trip! (O.K. he only fell in with one leg but it was a long, cold walk back to the van. I think he may try it again this year. I have a shanty now and he and his mother are thinking they will give it a try.)

[ChillerThriller]

Dont go fishing for the fish of a lifetime the first time out. Go somewhere where there are lots of hugry fish that will bite almost everything. If you go fishing and you only catch like 2 fish all day he wont think its fun. Go somewhere with little trout or panfish and set them up for success. when they are catching fish they are having fun. That goes for everyone, so if theres a chance to get something big on a tip up put them out but make sure you try catch alot of fish no matter how big, catching is fun. and let him do things, dont do everything for him. teach him how to jig and set up tip ups and bait a hook, its fun for them because its gives them a sense of worth and when they do something and you compliment them it feels really good. not that long ago i was a wee tyke (like 13 years ago to be 5) my dad took me to lakes where there was tons of fish. they all used to be bigger back then but still catching was fun. keep it simple and if you have a underwater camera bring it FOR SURE, kids love tv's and stuff so thats a given.

[kimball07]

go for junk fish,  bass and pickeral, constant action 3 and 7 year old and they like it if there is action and a shelter to warm up. best to pick a fairly warm day with little to no wind

[river_scum]

a-bomb hit it all i think. great post bomber!

[high_flags]

Try to keep them away from what we call bear traps,slush covered auger holes. My son was only 5yrs old and stepped through a 10" hole, his whole leg went in!  I had to do a quick dry down,boot removal  in the shanty,its good that I had it set up that day. I still laugh when I think about that day.   EVERYONE SHOULD TAKE A KID FISHING!

[fire831]

I might add, don't let them just run around all over away from where your fishing, especially on unexplored ice. Never know what it's like. My daughter loves to ice fish but knows the rules, follow behind dad so if anyone goes in, I go first and hopefully she don't. I usually makes sure the ice is real good before I let her go.

[AlgaeKilla]

I've got a couple to add to this list. One thing I recommend is to prefish and make sure you've located some biters. With low attention spans searching just doesn't hold their interest. Show 'em how to use your electronics. Take enough units for them if you can. They won't want to give 'em up after they catch a few with a flasher and an aqua view keeps 'em entertained for a long time, but if there's more than one they may fight over it. lol
Here's Jake jiggin' up some 'gills last year.

[Boomer]

Let's all remember that kids like to see fish. If it is slow, those of us that have caught fish should allow kids to see their catch. My son was so excited when a friendly icefisherman let him see his catch that he wanted to fish again. They are the future and lets teach them correctly. (Parents/guardians: this is also a good time to teach proper ettiquette. Be polite and say please and thank-you.)

[chicagill35]

My son on Crooked Lake last year found this Gar someone threw on the ice, and took it and found a bunch of dink gills everyone threw around and was playing shark or jaws or whatever and having the gar bite down on the gills. That kept him busy for hours. He was crunching the gills with the Gars mouth.

[archman]

I have four kids and there asking to go all the time. Had single shanty.To keep them warm this year My kids and I built a two man hut to fish in. It is set up in my garage because the kids think it is cool.