SCHOOL holidays can be great for kids and a nightmare for parents. Young Jack and Jill need to be entertained.
Whether you are going away or staying home, why not turn off the television and organise some serious fishing.
There are many options.
For example, Fisheries Victoria has released more than 17,000 ready-to-catch rainbow trout into more than 50 small lakes and dams across the state.
Fisheries Victoria executive director Dr Peter Appleford said rainbow trout were relatively easy to catch, making them an ideal target for children.
The majority of fish being released are advanced yearlings (150-200g) suitable for immediate catch and keep.
Moreover, Fisheries has stocked some larger trout to more than 3kg into the Lillydale Lake, Kennington Reservoir, Eildon Pondage, Hyland Lake and Jubilee Lake.
Dr Appleford said the stocking program was designed to coincide with the September school holidays, with several upcoming fishing events to make angling more attractive for young people, in easily accessible bodies of water.
"The waters have been selected because they are close to urban centres or regional towns and provide easy access with a variety of fishing platforms and bankside tracks," he said.
Alternatively, you may prefer saltwater where there are many options.
My advice is to find an estuary.
As I write, garfish, silver trevally, yelloweye mullet and bream are on the bite in many of our bays and estuaries.
For anyone wanting to learn how to catch a fish, an estuary is ideal. As well as being marine nurseries, estuaries offer a safe environment for young anglers.
Next, you will need to buy some tackle.
These days you can buy combo outfits, that is, a rod and reel designed for a specific style of fishing, such as estuary.
An estuary combo will comprise a medium quality rod and with a reel, often already spooled with a 3kg breaking strain line, and come with a small amount of tackle including hooks, sinkers, swivels and floats.
Some combos include pre-tied rigs, so all you have to do is learn how to tie a simple blood or uni knot. If rigs are not included, you can buy these separately.
Be careful when you open a combo, because sometimes the packaging has drawings of rigs and knot tying that can be useful.
If you have bought your outfit from a tackle shop, then you should be able to glean advice on casting, baiting up and anything else you don't know.
Fishing rigs vary to suit the species. Midwater to surface fish like garfish, mullet and luderick should be fished for under a float. When it comes to bottom feeders like bream, many anglers use a running sinker rig.
Baits like prawns, pipis, bass yabbies, shrimp and sandworm are standard fare for most estuarine species, and some fish, like salmon, will take most baits or small lures.
Berley can work wonders in an estuary. Use a fine mist berley as you want to tease the fish, not feed them. The berley will drift in the current and should attract fish to your bait.
Steve Cooper can be heard on the Casting Off program on Radio Sport927 between 4.30am and 6.30am on Saturdays.
