Tips for Inspiring Girls to Fish

There are countless benefits of inspiring girls to fish. Teaching girls to fish through fun fishing activities for girls can heighten the enjoyment of family fishing outings, bring family-friendly fishing destinations for kids into play as future family vacation ideas, and strengthen the bond you have with a sister, partner, or daughter by bringing them into your world and sharing your passion with them. Additionally, according to our research, women who fish are happier and healthier people!

The Sociological and Personal Benefits of Inspiring Girls to Fish

Our research shows that fishing boosts a girl’s mood and has numerous other mental health benefits, too. In fact, among women who fish, 25% say the activity brings them peace, helps them manage long-term stress, and gives them greater per-severance to cope with setbacks they suffer far away from the water. Additionally, nearly 50% of women who bait, cast, and catch say that fishing teaches them patience, helps to develop their confidence, and leads to higher levels of self-esteem.

And yet, the vast majority of women anglers we spoke with rightfully do not feel that the marketing of the fishing industry as a whole adequately represents them. Inspiring girls to fish today and producing a new generation of female anglers can help change the industry and the lives of many young women.

How To Get My Daughter Interested in Fishing?

It's a common question we hear when it comes to the best ways to teach girls to fish. Here are some essential fishing tips for young girls that will get them excited to be on or around the water with you now, and continue to fish as they grow up.

Finding safe and enjoyable fishing experiences for girls is the ideal launching point for teaching girls to fish and encouraging their active and ongoing participation in the sport. Only then might they go on to have outdoor adventures for girls with friends or as a solo explorer in their adulthood.

Other tips for teaching girls to fish include:

1) Focus on easy-to-catch fish

You may enjoy chartering a boat to go after tarpon and other trophy fish, but when teaching and inspiring girls to fish, stick to local fishing holes and go after fish that are easier to catch and reel into shore so that girls get that sweet taste of success.

2) Show them that fishing isn't boring

You have an important responsibility: to disprove the myth that fishing is boring. Fun fishing activities for young girls that can help with this include thinking of your outings holistically, not only with rod in hand. Take breaks from the actual fishing to explore the river bank with them, look for cool-looking rocks, funny-shaped sticks, and even some critters like frogs, worms, and salamanders. Then, play ‘Pooh Sticks’ from a bridge to see whose stick wins the race, collect leaves, and tell dad jokes to make them croak like a toad. These are warm memories that are fishing adjacent and will paint the whole activity in a great light and make them want to grab the fishing gear and head back out again and again.

3) Leave them wanting more

Like George Costanza said in Seinfeld, always leave them wanting more! This means when it comes to inspiring girls to fish, keep your family fishing outings short–no more than 1-2 hours of casting and catching fish. This way, they get a taste, have some success, and want to repeat the activity. That's when you'll have them 'hooked'!

4) Use a bobber

Bobbers are fun to look at and a fun word to say out loud. A colorful bobber to watch is a tiny bit of eye candy that can make fishing even more fun for young girls.

5) Don’t use live bait

One of the potential icky things about fishing is live bait so remove that hurdle with sturdy and not-at-all slimy artificial bait when teaching girls to fish.

6) Feed their curiosity

Kids are curious creatures, so feed their sense of wonder and thirst for knowledge by learning about fish habits beforehand and bringing fun books with photos of fish for them to soak up and pass the time waiting for a bite.

7) Feed them fish!

Maybe you can’t keep what you catch, but you can light up the grill and make a festive fish dinner with these recipes for fish tacos or blackened fish bites.

8) Patience is key

Not only is patience paramount when fishing in general, it's also crucial to be gentle, patient, and kind while attempting to inspire girls to fish. Avoid being critical or rushing the process of falling in love with fishing and you’ll be rewarded with fishing buddy for life.

Before you start teaching girls to fish, brush up on these important safety tips for fishing with kids.