BLOG: Kids Pike Fishing Weekend is mega success!

This event was run by the Pike Anglers Club of Great Britain, supported by local coaches, volunteers and angling businesses – a great example of angling pulling together to get more people fishing!

Phil Turton wrote to tell us about the recent Junior Pike Fishing Teach-In run by the Pike Anglers Club of Great Britain. Phil is the PACGB Junior Events Organiser, a  Level 2 Coach and is committed to encouraging the next generation of predator anglers to have the best experience and success possible when fishing for this amazing species!

Where do I start? An amazing weekend! Quote of the weekend from one of the junior anglers:

“I’ve just had my pb pike and unhooked and chinned it all on my own, while Dad watched.”

I’ve just returned from Lancashire where The Pike Anglers Club held their first overnight coaching weekend in pike fishing for parents a their children – what an amazing time was had by all!

To start with we had classroom based activities including useful fishing knots and unhooking pike safely with all the kids learning how to do this essential part of pike fishing. We also covered how to set up the appropriate rod, reel, braid/line and end-tackle – this is all straightforward stuff but helped the parents see how they can assist their children, and the basic components they need to buy rather than ending up with a load of stuff from the tackle shop that never gets used!

You can see from the pics we talked everybody through the importance of unhooking mats to protect the fish from dirt or hard surfaces, why it’s important to carry a full set of proper unhooking tools, what a wire trace does, and how they can be made – all of this vital stuff that makes it fun and safe for both the fish and the angler!

All the juniors got a go or watched a demonstration of this using our brilliant demo pike, named ‘Gert’!

Then the day continued on the lake where we all set up and the coaches and volunteers helped all the participants with encouragement, showing them the best practice set ups, giving top-tips on rigs, having a go at lure fishing tuition in all its different forms and – when a pike was caught – a real-life demonstration on how to put into practice the classroom skills they just saw – what a fantastic way to bring to life the tuition, out in the real world surrounded by nature and having successfully caught some fish – brilliant! This is why these teach-in sessions are so valuable in bringing onboard the next generation of pike and predator anglers who can carry on the the safe and respectful way to fish for these incredible fish, while all the time ensuring it is fun, and more FUN!

Next we returned to the classroom for some food, Q&A and video tutorials. All the time was planned to give the participants the most useful experience possible, and although it was a lot to take in I’m absolutely blown away with the enthusiasm shown by these young anglers. The way they all contributed, conducted themselves and showed enthusiasm and cooperation was 100% positive throughout – well done to all involved! Fantastic behaviour, and a real credit to all the parents too!

The day was tiring but incredibly enjoyable and rewarding – a massive THANK YOU to Chris, Kian, Damian, Jon and Lee for their invaluable help on the day. Plus, incredible support as always by Rob from Voodoo Traces, for his continued support with the kids goody bags and top-draw traces and components.

A massive THANKS TOO to Wyreside Fisheries for allowing the Pike Anglers Club of Great Britain to hold the event and being so extremely accommodating to us all – thanks Callum and all your hard-working Team!

All of the events like this one which are run by the PACGB can be found on the Get Fishing pages of the Angling Trust website and if you can’t find what you are looking for, drop us a line in Facebook Messenger, or by email via the PACGB website!

I can’t wait to hear from you and see you at one of the PACGB events in future.

Best wishes,
Phil

Phil Turton
Junior Events Organiser
Pike Anglers Club of Great Britain

For more info about Get Fishing campaign in the East of England, to get into fishing or support the programme, please contact Jack Culpin, our Regional Angling Development Officer (East of England) via [email protected]

The Get Fishing campaign is funded by

The Angling Trust’s Get Fishing campaign to get more people fishing more often is funded by the Environment Agency from fishing licence income as part of the National Angling Strategic Services contract with the Angling Trust, and Sport England. Children under 13 do not need a licence, and licences for children aged between 13 and 16 are free but you still need to register and receive a licence before you go fishing. You can get a licence for the full year, for 8 days (ideal for holidays!) or just a day’s fishing.

NOTE: Although young children who are under 13 year old do not need a licence to fish, the person supervising them needs to have the proper fishing licence before they take hold of the fishing rod or help the child fish with it.

Get Fishing is Proudly Supported by

The Angling Trust’s ‘Get Fishing’ campaign is proudly supported by Angling Direct, Exclusive Retail Partner
as we work towards getting more people fishing, more often.

If there’s something that you cannot find here to help you start fishing or return to angling, please contact your local Regional Angling Development Officer – you can find the nearest one to where you want to go fishing here.