Kathy Magers of Waxahachie is a fifty-something grandmother who fished women’s professional bass fishing tours for 18 years, but she remembers exactly why, when and where she got hooked on fishing.
The bobber did it.
“My grandfather taught me to fish in Galveston Bay when I was about four years old,” Magers recalls. “He had long popping corks, green with a pink top. He would rig one and throw it out for me, and I knew that when that cork went under, I had a fish on. I carry one of those corks with me when giving talks on fishing, and when people ask what got me interested in fishing, I show it to them. The bobber is the icon of fishing. When it goes under, it’s the signal that the fun has begun.”
Magers, a member of the Texas Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame, has passed on her love of fishingâespecially bass fishingâto both her daughters and a growing collection of grandchildren. Her success is due in large measure to her ability to still see the world through a child’s eyes, a knack revealed as she recalls the things she enjoyed most about those early outings with her grandfather.
“I liked it because I knew all my friends were still in bed, and I was up before sunrise. I thought it was cool to eat out while it was still dark, drive down the beach toward the Bolivar Ferry with Grandpa’s boat in tow, watch the sun come up. I had never seen the sun come up before,” she says.
Another high point came after a day of fishing. “When I got to be five or six, Grandpa would tell me that if I was really good, he would let me steer the boat as we were coming in from fishing. There I was giraffe-necking over the steering wheel, thinking I was driving the boat, though I’m sure he was holding on to the bottom of the wheel. That imprinted me with a love of boating. A few years ago I found a report I had to write in second grade telling about myself and my family. Mine said, ‘I like to ride in boats’ and had a picture of a man and a woman in a boat with my nameâKathleenâon the side.”
Know Before You Go
Magers puts a lifetime of experience to work when she takes a young person fishing. One of the most important things to take into account is the weather. “People often think it’s best to go fishing on a pretty day, but fish don’t bite well on bluebird days,” she advises. “The perfect day would be partly cloudy with a 5- to 10-mile-per-hour breeze and an air temperature over 60. On cool days, dress children warmly. The chill factor of air on water is greater than on land, so they need to wear a few extra clothes to stay comfortable.”
Magers follows a one-hour-for-year-of-age rule when deciding how long to stay out. For children under age 5 in the group, she advocates taking along games or toys to keep them busy if they lose interest, so that older youths can keep fishing.
Preparation for the trip can be part of the adventure. Take the youngsters with you to buy fishing licenses. A trip to the tackle section of a sporting goods store furnishes ample opportunities to acquaint kids with fishing gear and let them get their hands on it. For home-based learning, visit TPWD’s angler education pages at http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/edu/anged/.
Anglers have a responsibility to know fishing rules and regulations and to be able to identify fish caught, since size and bag limits vary by species as well as by body of water. Have children visit http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/fish/infish/index.phtml to learn where and how to fish and how to identify their catch. Whether you give pop quizzes is up to you.
Gearing Up
Despite her love of boating, Magers is quick to point out that having a boat is not a requirement for a successful fishing trip. “Look where people in boats goâthey fish the shore,” Magers says. She recommends fishing from the bank or from fishing piers. Many lakes, some in state parks, cater to boatless anglers.
“Many people think a child needs a short rod, but that’s not true,” Magers says. “They need a 5.5- to 6-foot rod, because that gives them to leverage to get fish out of submerged cover.”
For the same reason, Magers suggests weaning children off spincast or open-faced spinning reels as early as possible. “When you are first teaching a child to fish, the spincast or open-faced reels are best,” she says. “But by the time they are eight, start teaching them to use a bait-casting reel. Bass tend to live in the thickest, gnarliest cover they can find, such as stumps and brushpiles, and the bait-casting reel has the power to get them out.”
Bait-casting reels have one big drawback, however. Known by various names such as “bird’s nest” or “professional overrun,” a tangled mess of lineâbacklashâresults when too little thumb pressure is applied while casting, allowing the reel to free-spool and wrap line around itself multiple times. This becomes an important teaching moment, though, Magers says. “Don’t overdo helping them pick out backlashes. Grandpa helped me pick out my first three backlashes. After that he said, ‘If you don’t use your thumb like I told you, sit there and pick it out yourself.’ That sounds mean, but I quickly learned to cast correctly.”
A camera is also an essential tool on a fishing trip, and not just to take pictures of beaming anglers with their catches. “Don’t wait for a child to catch a fish to hold up,” Magers says. “Take pictures as they are fishing, when they are crying, when they are mad. My favorite picture of my grandson (Ryan McDowell of Waxahachie) shows him sitting there frustrated with a tangled line.”
Safety is always a concern when sharp hooks and tender skin are involved. “Teach children to leave only one or two inches of line between the lure and the tip of the rod when casting,” Magers says. “This helps prevent hooking someone else when casting. It’s also a good idea to have everyone yell ‘Going out’ before casting, so that others can stand clear.”
The Bait Debate
Bass fishing and artificial lures go together like fish and water, and some people feel it’s unethical to fish for bass using live bait, since bass may swallow bait and hook too deeply to be removed. “I like to use lures, and I encourage children to use lures, but an artificial bait is only as good as the action it has, and children don’t have the skill it takes to use a lure the way it should be worked,” Magers says. “When fish won’t bite on lures, I suggest using live bait under a bobber and fishing for any species. You may catch bass, and you may not. To minimize deep hooking that can harm fish, set the hook quickly. If you can’t get the hook out easily, cut the line and leave the hook in place. That holds true for live bait or artificials.” Avoid using stainless steel or nickel-plated hooks, so that hooks left in place will rust away quickly, leaving the fish to bite another day.
When using artificials, Magers suggests using a noise-making lipless crankbait in a chrome pattern, _- or _-ounce. “If you see schooling activity where fish are chasing bait to the surface, have the child throw out ahead of the direction the fish are heading, start reeling, and be ready. It could be black bass or sand bass or any kind of schooling fish. That’s a good way to fish open water, but don’t use those type lures in heavy cover. When fishing heavy cover or a shoreline, use weedless lures that won’t hang up.”
Natural baits can save a fishing trip like nothing else can. Magers recalls the day on Lake Fork when she and grandson Ryan were getting royally skunked. “After lunch, I decided to try minnows instead of lures,” Magers smiles. “I put a minnow on Ryan’s line, and it no more than hit the water when the fun started. The first fish was five pounds, the second seven. Boats around us that were not catching anything began edging closer, watching Ryan jump up and down with his rod bent double. The most remarkable thing was that when people saw what was going on, everybody in all six boats stood up and gave Ryan a standing ovation. It made me want to cry. That is still my most memorable day fishing.”
That may not be true forever. Magers’ newest fishing partner is her six-year-old granddaughter, Erin Johnston of Duncanville. “She lives in a Barbie worldâschool, coloring books and all that stuffâbut when we go fishing, she is as into it as her brothers, Jason and Drew, and she can squeal louder,” Magers says.
The rewards of family fishing go far beyond happy memories and food for the table. “When you fish with a child, you bond with that child, and no one can take that away from you,” Magers says. “I can’t talk to my grandkids on the phone, but put them in a boat with me, and we communicate. The thing I like best is when they call and say, ‘Grammie, when are we going fishing again?’ That means either they want to be with me, or they just want a fishing guide, but I know for that one day I rank above dolls and video games and all those thingsâand I love it.”
Family Fishing Holes
Spring is a great time to introduce a child to bass fishing. Bass that remain hidden in deep water most of the year move into shallow water to spawn as the water warms, making them more accessible to anglers.
TPWD Inland Fisheries biologists and state park managers give the following locations high marks as family fishing destinations, and they unanimously agree that a minnow under a bobber is as close as you’ll come to a sure thing. No fishing license is required when fishing in lakes completely contained within state parks. Locations and more detailed information about each lake or park can be found on the TPWD web site (http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/fish/infish/regions/ and http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/park/). Only those offering good fishing opportunities from bank or pier are listed below.
Bonham State ParkâMost of the shoreline around the 65-acre lake is trimmed to allow bank access from adjacent campsites.
Brazos Bend State ParkâNew Horseshoe Lake has been groomed for bank fishing, and Hale Lake offers a pier.
Buescher State ParkâA 25-acre lake is intensively managed for largemouth bass. Bank access is good on the lower end of the lake.
Cleburne State ParkâThis lake is intensively managed for largemouth bass and offers good bank access.
Eisenhower State ParkâWhile the large lighted pier is wheelchair accessible, it sits in deep water. Try the other three piers, which are located in coves that are potential spawning areas.
Lake BastropâNorth Shore Park has a large fishing pier and bank access. South Shore Park has bank access.
Lake Bob SandlinâA large lighted fishing pier has good vegetated habitat within easy casting distance. The lake record bass, 14 pounds 5 ounces, was caught from this pier.
Lake Mineral Wells State ParkâMany trails lead from campsites to bank fishing spots, and the park offers five fishing piers.
Lake Ray Roberts State ParkâBoth units of the park have ample shoreline accessible from nearby campsites.
Lake SomervilleâFish for white bass in creeks during the spawn and along banks in late spring and summer.
Lake Tawakoni State ParkâFor a “catching” experience, fish around the boat ramp following one of the weekend bass fishing tournaments. Fish are released into the area and hang around for several daysâstill biting.
Lost Creek ReservoirâA trail leads from nearby Fort Richardson State Park to a large fishing pier.
Meridian State ParkâThe 72-acre lake has been intensively managed for largemouth bass, some of which weigh 10 pounds or better. This no-wake lake is popular with bank and wade fishers, though many of the bigger fish are caught from deeper water near the dam.
Purtis Creek State ParkâBank anglers consistently catch three- to five-pound largemouth bass from this catch-and-release only, trophy bass fishery. These fish have seen every artificial lure there is, but they are suckers for live bait.
Tyler State ParkâBest fishing spots are by the boat ramp, on the island, and by the boathouse. A Tyler angler caught a 14.5-pound largemouth, a new lake record, in March 2008.By: “>Larry D. Hodge, TPWD
