Fishing - My 6 year old son wants to fish

In message , Chuck
writes
But I have no idea where to start.

I don't want my son to be denied just because I don't know what I'm doing
but, also, I don't want to spend tons of money on stuff that may well be
redundant due to lack of ongoing interest on the part of a small boy.

So, does anyone have any tips as to how I can go about getting him some
fishing time? What do I need? Can stuff be rented?

There are lots of schemes providing tuition for kids; try Googling for
"coarse fishing tuition juniors".

If you want to get him his own gear, you can do it fairly cheaply. You
can get things very cheaply second hand, but you lose out on the advice
from the tackle shop, which is very useful.

Couple of pointers; don't, whatever you do, buy him one of those "boy's
fishing kits" with a 6 foot rod and some assorted bits of substandard
kit. They aren't good value, they aren't easy to catch fish with, and
they won't have any long term use if he does take it up.

I would suggest buying a whip. A whip is a short pole. A pole is a kind
of fishing rod which is used without a reel; the line is simply tied to
the end of it. They are suitable for catching small fish, close in, and
they are light and easy for a child to handle. The lack of a reel
removes the potential for a whole world of tangles. To give you an idea
of how cheap they are, here's one which comes with a few bits and
pieces:

https://www.bosfish.co.uk/PRODUCTS/O.../Ss379pole.htm

Here's the same one available in two lengths:

https://www.bosfish.co.uk/PRODUCTS/POLES/ss805whips.htm

If you pay a little more than that, you should be able to get a lighter
one, but it gives you an idea of prices. Best thing to do is to take
your boy to a fishing tackle shop at a quiet time of day (not a Saturday
morning!) and see what they've got.

He'll also need some line, hooks, floats, weights, a disgorger (device
for humanely removing hooks from fish) and a small landing net. Again a
tackle shop should be able to put together all of this stuff. They
should also be able to give advice on where he can expect to catch some
fish locally with this gear, and can advise on and provide bait.

--
Steve Walker