Your Letters on the week’s news
AS a 48-year-old father of girls aged eight, six and four, all of whom I have introduced to our sport, I reckon young people need to be engaged at junior school, ideally at around fiveto eight years old.
At this age they are still almost completely influenced by their parents’ choices, and readily share their enthusiasm for their chosen sports. They are keen to emulate the passion and excitement they see in their parents when participating in an activity. I’ve had great success in getting my daughters on to the bank, but it hasn’t been easy.
There seems to be a complete lack of effort among tackle makers to produce rods and reels aimed at young children, so I’ve resorted to what my father did 40 years ago and invested in some branded 6ft and 4ft spinning rods.
The next problem would be at the fishery. Those with small children know kids can be fussy, particularly when it comes to toilets, and so can the parents! So instead of choosing to go to one of my local waters in a field with nothing to speak of in terms of facilities, I drove 45 minutes to Partridge Fisheries.
Not only do they have very good facilities right next to the waters,
but they also understand what it means to get children on the bank.
They have never charged me for bringing my girls along, and always engage with the girls in an open and friendly manner.
The future of fishing is not down to any one factor but needs to be a roots-to-branch effort from manufacturers, fishery owners and the EA to engage children from the earliest possible opportunity. Martin Seddon, email