5 year old Rowan's 1st Kayak Fish of the Year

On Saturday morning my youngest son Rowan and I headed out to Bloomfield to see if we could find any sign of the Shad running.   American Shad, or the poor man's salmon as they are known are a member of the herring family and make their annual run up our rivers to spawn each Spring.   I wrote an article about Shad where you can learn more here in our local Ossekeag publication.

Anyhow, while we weren't successful in finding any shad through the morning, this was Rowan's first paddle of the year.   After trying out padding the Ocean Kayak Tetra 10 kayak last Fall, Rowan is now of the mindset that he is old enough to paddle his own fishing kayak.   Typically I would place him on a footstool behind me in the Old Town Predator 13, an ideal kayak for such an outing, but apparently he believe's he has outgrown it!

On Saturday there was little wind or current to deal with, and the distance we needed to paddle was minimal, so it was an ideal outing to let Rowan do a little test run and see how he would do.   Naturally Rowan is going to need to practice his paddling technique, and build up a little strength, but for what we wanted to accomplish on Saturday he did fantastic!

If you have a young child like Rowan here who is just 5 years old, consider introducing them to the sport.   There may not be many fish caught on the first outing, but that really is secondary to the kids being comfortable, feeling secure and safe, and getting out to try new things.    I would be happy to demo this or other kayaks I have to people here in my area of the province, and offer guided fishing services which can include parent/child outings.   So if this does interest you, by all means, feel free to let me know!

Interesting to note, Rowan also put on his own life jacket (inside out but fully secured), baited his own hook, and basically did everything himself.   By the end of this summer, he may be able to go it on his own with minimal supervision when the conditions are ideal.