Steve Sarley: What age do you let kids take a solo fishing adventure?

I’ve mentioned before that I am the father of three grown children. I use “grown” to mask the fact that my kids are truly old enough to have kids of their own and probably should not be referred to as children at all. They are fully grown adults.

That said, I am years past the time when my wife and I were raising the kids. Times have definitely changed and the rules for child rearing are different from back in my day.

When I was a kid of grammar school age, I lived in the heart of the inner city of Chicago. There were no ponds or creeks to speak of, so fishing was something that was only done by me when my family traveled to the Northwoods of Wisconsin for an annual two-week summer vacation.

There weren’t really any parks in our neighborhood. The now popular term “green space” was something that might as well have been spoken in a foreign language. The only green space I saw on a regular basis was that narrow strip of grass that grew between our concrete curbs and our cement sidewalks.

I used to leave home after breakfast to play baseball all day. I’d show up at home for a fast dinner and head back out to join my friends for more fun until dark. I don’t think my parents ever worried about where I was or what I was doing.

Obviously, things have radically changed since then. Circumstances have changed and the opportunities for kids to recreate are much different today.

I have been thinking about how these changes that face us today and how today’s parents treat the challenges of society – and the world.

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I ask you parents: how old do your kids have to be for them to go fishing with their friends at a local fishing hole? How many friends, if any, do you require them to fish with if you let them go? Do you have an adult drive them to the local pond or do you allow them to walk or maybe ride their bicycles?

I get a feeling of excitement when I see a couple or three school-age children riding their bikes down the street, headed toward the local housing development retention pond. I am filled with happiness seeing some kids heading to the water to try for a bass or bluegill rather than sitting in a basement playing the newest video game. I’d really like to know what you feel is the proper age for your kids to go fishing in your local area either by themselves or a small group of friends.

My parents were quite liberal with me as far as permission went when I was a kid. Like I told you, my water adventures only took place in Wisconsin. We vacationed at Dillman’s Sand Lake Lodge in Lac du Flambeau. The lake was about 1,200 crystal-clear acres with a dozen miles of shoreline and a depth of 60 feet.

I began fishing with my father when I was 5 and fell in love with it. My father was a serious fisherman and spending so much time with me probably drove him crazy. It did, though, make me a good fisherman.

The summer I turned 10 years old was incredible. My dad asked me how I would like it if I would be given charge of my own boat. The resort’s rental boats were 14-foot wooden crafts that weighed about as much as a small automobile. These boats did not have very much  speed, especially if one was powered by the motor my dad put on mine.

My ark had a 3½-horsepower Evinrude hanging off its stern. In all honesty, a full-sized adult could probably have rowed the boat as fast as the motor propelled it. I didn’t care at all. I had a boat all to myself.

I could go any place on the lake all by myself as long as I was in eyeshot of the resort. I felt like a grown-up with the power and freedom I was being handed. I was on the water every minute of the day except for meal time.

I know I would have never let any of my children be allowed to run their own boat on vacation, no matter how small the motor. It would have never happened at age 10, and probably not even until they hit their teens.

My next question to you is at what age would to let your child operate their own boat alone? Realize that back in the day there were no laws regarding age restriction, so please take into account present day regulations for age, education, certificates, permission and other restrictions. I’d love to know.

sarfishing@yahoo.com