I took my cousin Laura's 4 year old son Tommy fishing for bluegill at a small pond in Hilliard. He got his first fishing pole (Star Wars of course) that looks just like the Snoopy poles we used to tear up the fish at Indian Lake, and boy was he pumped to catch some fish. I knew Tommy would catch a bunch of bluegill and have the chance at a small bass, the pond is LOADED with bluegill. It holds a 4 year olds attention span pretty well because they're always biting as soon as the bait hits the water.
On the first cast Tommy's bobber goes under and he sets the hook like a pro! He was grinning ear to ear when he landed the fish and it was a pretty good sized bluegill. He caught a few more and even held one of the bluegills in his hands. The fish started flopping and Tommy dropped it and said "That fish was WET!!" 
I casted the bait back to the same spot and something came up and SMASHED the worm! The bobber was gone and Tommy set the hook like a natural. The fish almost pulled the rod out of his hand. I knew right away it was a bass. I grabbed the rod and could tell immediately he had a giant on the end of his 3 foot Star Wars pole.
Picture this, all 3 of us standing on the bank of the pond going completely nuts while i'm trying to land this giant fish on a 3 foot pole with 2lb test. I'm stripping out drag, walkin up and down the shore...the fish keeps wrapping itself up in the weeds and is fighting for his life. i didn't think i had any chance of landing it on the kids rod. Eventually, it wore itself out and i was able to get it to the bank. It was an absolute MONSTER. I couldn't believe my eyes
Picture this, all 3 of us standing on the bank of the pond going completely nuts while i'm trying to land this giant fish on a 3 foot pole with 2lb test. I'm stripping out drag, walkin up and down the shore...the fish keeps wrapping itself up in the weeds and is fighting for his life. i didn't think i had any chance of landing it on the kids rod. Eventually, it wore itself out and i was able to get it to the bank. It was an absolute MONSTER. I couldn't believe my eyes
The coolest part was the look on Tommy's face. Wild excitement. After catching these small bluegill i pull a 20 inch fish out of the water. I can only imagine how big the fish looked to a 4 year old. I turned to Laura and said, "Well, Tommy's life is changed forever. He's hooked now!" He was clapping his hands and dancing around, it was absolutely priceless.
Tommy caught quite a few more bluegill and even came up with a song he'd sing when he was reeling in a fish. I LOVE this kid's style!! He caught 9 fish in about 45 mins up to this point and we were wrapping up the night. We told Tommy the fish went to bed and it was time to go home.
He started reeling in the line and out of nowhere another giant bass swam up and just clobbered the worm. With the steel nerves of George Schiffer, Jr himself, Tommy instinctively set the hook and had another tank on! Laura and I were flabbergasted. As I'm fighting the fish it LEAPS up out of the air and tried to shake the hook. No way Mr. Bass! Tommy the pro had the hook buried deep in the side of the mouth. I landed the fish and we were rollin on the ground laughing.
Tommy caught quite a few more bluegill and even came up with a song he'd sing when he was reeling in a fish. I LOVE this kid's style!! He caught 9 fish in about 45 mins up to this point and we were wrapping up the night. We told Tommy the fish went to bed and it was time to go home.
He started reeling in the line and out of nowhere another giant bass swam up and just clobbered the worm. With the steel nerves of George Schiffer, Jr himself, Tommy instinctively set the hook and had another tank on! Laura and I were flabbergasted. As I'm fighting the fish it LEAPS up out of the air and tried to shake the hook. No way Mr. Bass! Tommy the pro had the hook buried deep in the side of the mouth. I landed the fish and we were rollin on the ground laughing.
Absolutely incredible. It took me 27 years to catch a fish that big, and Tommy comes out at age 4 on his first fishing trip and he catches not 1, but 2 Bass in the 3-3.5lb range. Unheard of. I dont know who had more fun, me or Tommy. The look on his face when he caught fish was priceless. I have a feeling he'll be wanting cousin Timmy to take him fishing again VERY soon!
