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Posts: 461
| I've been coaching Bass Fishing at the High School level in Illinois for 12 years now. I see no decline in intrest at this level, in fact, things are way more competitive then they were in the early beginings. The kids at this level are light years ahead of previous generations. These kids grow up as middle schoolers wanting to be on the high school tournament team. From High School they are graduating to the ranks of College and some are even receiving scholarships to fish competitively. If they still have the ambition and drive to go further, there are now 3 different Professional levels, and many more options leading to them. What species these young people choose to fish for later in life is Yet to Be Determined, the important part now is to get them outdoors and making the experience enjoyable. |
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Posts: 167
Location: Alexandria, MN | One thing you can do when introducing a young person or newbie to muskie fishing is start them out on a lake with a decent pike population. Pike will keep them busy and hopefully a little more focused. I take my teen aged nephews out muskie fishing several times a year. While they want to catch muskies in a big way, they seem to be pretty happy even if they don't get one as long as the pike are active. It also gets them used to setting the hook, battling a (hopefully) bigger fish, and teaches them how to unhook and release a toothy critter properly. |
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Posts: 8792
| I still get a kick out of catching Pike. They taste good! |
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Posts: 9
| This is an answer to the original question. One thing that I would try to do is schedule as many practices/events as possible on lakes that have muskies in them. So in your area Eagle, Weaver (Caught Tiger’s bass fishing there once), and maybe Minnetonka… Not sure on how far you travel with the kids. Fishing on these lakes might allow some of those addicting close encounters that others have alluded to, to happen more organically. Lots of MN anglers who got into muskie fishing were due to encounters through bass fishing. Either way thanks for taking the time to take kids fishing. |
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Posts: 670
Location: Otsego, MN | Nice point CR21. Weaver's Tigers do provide entertainment! |
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