Fishing with kids is less about catching fish and more about managing expectations and keeping the day fun, and Captain Scott Brown's P.A.C.E. plan, primary, alternate, contingency, and emergency, gives you a framework to do exactly that. One of my big passions is taking kids fishing, but my kids are grown now, so I brought in Scott Brown of Hooked On Family, a Florida Keys guide raising two young anglers of his own, along with his son Grayton. In this How 2 Tuesday we break down how to teach a kid to fish and what to actually expect.
Watch and listen now: press play in the player above and follow along.
P.A.C.E. stands for primary, alternate, contingency, and emergency, a framework Captain Scott Brown uses to keep a day on the water with kids from falling apart. The primary is plan A, usually snapper fishing. The alternate is your backup if someone is already on the spot or a storm rolls in. The contingency is what you do when a kid is sick of fishing, often a run to the sandbar. The emergency is your last resort. Having that outline written in your head means you always have a next move to keep the kids entertained before anyone melts down and asks to go home.
It starts before you ever leave the dock, with mindset and expectation management. Scott and his wife decided early that they would not ride their kids hard chasing fish, and that the goal is simply having fun, not catching the top three. Most four-year-olds cannot tell a bonefish from a pinfish; they just want the rod to bend and some action. When it is time to go in, it is time to go in, on the kid's schedule, not yours. Set the bar low, keep it light, and the day stays fun for everyone.
Let them. The whole point is to build a positive memory so the kid wants to come back, and to a child a live well is an aquarium full of cool stuff they are actually allowed to put their arms into up to the shoulder. If their idea of a great day is playing in the live well, that is a win. Telling them no, do not touch the bait, do not put your hands in, turns it into a negative experience. Eventually they come around to wanting to fish, but only if the boat stays a fun place to be.
Find one that fits well and is comfortable, because an uncomfortable, overheating life jacket ruins the day. Scott likes a puddle jumper for his son because it is easy on and off, but in the hot Lower Keys he looks for a mesh material that regulates body heat while still providing good flotation. For an infant, he uses a Mustang-style jacket with a full backrest behind the head, so if the baby falls in it self-rights and keeps her face above the water. Kids outgrow them in months, so it is an investment you make often, and it is worth it.
Because kids will test your patience, and your mood sets the tone for the whole boat. Scott is honest that it gets frustrating when one kid wants to go one way, another falls out of the boat, one is in the cooler, and a third is casting into the mangroves breaking gear. It sometimes takes his wife Lindsay reminding him to chill when he is reaching his limit. Remaining calm and positive is one of the most important things you can do, because a stressed-out parent makes for a miserable trip, and the kids feel it immediately.
Lean into the weird, colorful fish kids actually love, the snappers, needlefish, barracuda, cowfish, boxfish, and the strange-looking ones serious anglers overlook. Scott's son will happily catch grass porgies by the dozen, rod bent and grinning. I gave each of my kids a copy of A.J. McClane's Guide to Saltwater Fishes and told them it was fine to write in it, and they would check off every fish they caught like a stamp collection. Awards for the smallest or weirdest fish work too. Make the catching fun and the learning comes with it.
Here are the steps Scott and I walk through. We cover the stories behind each one in the episode.
We unpack each of these in the episode. Press play in the player above.
The biggest thing I have passed on to parents is that taking kids fishing is not really about going fishing. Even Grayton, who can cast under the mangroves and has caught all kinds of fish, still loves playing in the live well. Get the kids out, give them a good time, and they will want to come back. Scott and I get into that mindset in the episode, so press play in the player above.
Plans with kids never go accordingly, which is why Scott runs a P.A.C.E. plan and preps every snack, drink, and rig the night before. When the spot is taken or a front rolls through, he already knows his next move. He walks through how he builds the plan in the episode, so press play in the player above.
Comfortable life jackets, a calm head when chaos hits, and a willingness to chase grass porgies and needlefish instead of bonefish, that is what keeps kids coming back. Scott is refreshingly honest about reaching his patience limit, and I share how A.J. McClane's fish book turned catches into a stamp collection for my kids. We cover it all in the episode, so press play in the player above.
This is their day, not your day. Your perfect tailing tide will come another time. If the kids want to play in the live well or look at sand dollars, stop and let them, and you build the positive memory that makes the next trip happen.
Scott Brown runs Hooked On Family in the Lower Keys and is great about answering questions, especially from kids. Grayton, it is great to watch you fish. Press play in the player above.
How 2 Tuesday is my weekly series where I break down one fishing skill at a time, from knots and casting to gear, tactics, and the habits that make you a better angler. Watch and listen to every How 2 Tuesday episode from Tom Rowland.
Captain Scott Brown · Grayton · Lindsay · Hooked On Family · P.A.C.E. plan · fishing with kids · Lower Keys · Florida Keys · snapper · grass porgy · bonefish · permit · life jackets · Mustang · A.J. McClane's Guide to Saltwater Fishes · How 2 Tuesday · Saltwater Experience
I'm Tom Rowland, a professional fishing guide based in the Florida Keys, host of the Tom Rowland Podcast, and the longtime host of the Saltwater Experience television show. On the podcast's How 2 Tuesday series I break down one practical skill or lesson at a time, from fishing technique and gear to the habits that make you a better angler, in short, focused episodes you can put to use right away.
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