On Tom Rowland Podcast Episode 63 (How 2 Tuesday #21), I teach you the Ring Game, a simple casting drill I invented to keep my kids interested in fishing and make all of us better casters. One person casts a weight onto the water, which leaves a ring, and the other person races to cast a jig into that ring before it fades. We played it for years on the canal behind our house, and it taught accuracy, speed, and how to read water all at once. In this solo episode I lay out exactly how the Ring Game works and why it is the best drill I have found for young anglers.
Listen now: Spotify · Apple Podcasts · or press play in the player above.
The Ring Game is a casting practice drill I created to keep my kids interested in fishing and to make all of us better casters. One person casts a small weight onto the water, which leaves a ring on the surface, and the other person tries to cast their jig into that ring before it fades away. We played it for years on the canal behind our house, and it teaches accuracy, speed, and how to read water all at once.
You need access to water and a fishing rod for each person. The water can be a swimming pool, a lake, a canal, or the ocean, and a backyard swimming pool is ideal. We used spinning rods and little push-button kids' rods, but bait casters or fly rods work just as well. For the weight on the end, a jig, a jig head, or a quarter-ounce nut tied onto the line is perfect.
One person casts the weight out in front, and where it lands it makes a ring on the water. The other person then tries to cast their jig into that ring before it disappears. You take turns, going as fast as you can, casting and recasting into each new ring over and over. As kids improve, the game naturally flips, and they want to be the one casting the ring for you to hit.
The ring gives you a real target instead of casting out to nowhere, and that is where perfect practice happens. The faster you go, the more visible the ring is, so you learn to cast quickly and accurately. As you wait, the ring shrinks and gets harder to see, which forces you to be precise. Practicing to an actual target is what makes you start to get a lot better.
It has been the very best drill I have found for young kids, keeping them interested and engaged when you only have a few minutes or when the fish are not biting. The fishing can be terrible and you can still have a great time, so it holds their attention longer. It also teaches lessons that go beyond fishing, because once kids learn they can get good at something through practice, they realize they can get good at anything.
When the wind is blowing, the ring on the water becomes harder and harder to see, which trains your eye to pick out small disturbances on the surface. That is a lot like a bonefish tailing on the flats and making a slight disturbance that fades until the fish tips up again. Learning to spot and track that fading ring builds the same skill you need to read water and find fish.
Here is exactly how we played the Ring Game on the canal behind our house.
I walk through all of it, with the stories of playing it with my boys, in the episode. Press play in the player above.
When my kids were very young, it was important to me to teach them to fish and, just as important, to keep them interested. We did not always have time to go fishing, but we almost always had a few minutes to step out to the canal behind the house. A past How 2 Tuesday guest, Gene Jensen, gave me the seed of the idea with a quarter-ounce nut and a five-gallon bucket. I took that and turned it into something my sons would beg to play. I tell the full story of how it came together in the episode, so press play in the player above.
To catch a fish on the flats you need accuracy, speed, and the ability to read water, and the Ring Game works on all three. The fading ring is your target, so you learn to cast precisely. The faster you go, the more visible it is, so you learn to cast quickly. When the wind picks up, the ring gets harder to see, which is not unlike a bonefish tailing and making a slight disturbance that fades until it tips up again. I break down how each skill develops in the episode, so press play in the player above.
What surprised me most was how far this carried. The same lesson, that you get good at something through perfect, intentional practice, showed up in wrestling practice, in schoolwork, and in all kinds of things for Turner and Hayden. Once they learned they could become very good at one thing, they understood they could become good at anything. That is a bigger payoff than a better cast, and I explain how I watched it happen in the episode. Press play in the player above.
If you have access to a little water and a young person who likes to hold a fishing rod, this is a great one to try. The fishing can be terrible and you can still have a great time, which is exactly why it works when the fish are not biting and neither of you wants to go home.
In my opinion it has been the very best drill for keeping young kids interested and engaged. Give it a try, and if you have some success with your kids, send me an email at podcast@saltwaterexperience.com and let me know. Then press play in the player above.
Turner Rowland · Hayden Rowland · Gene Jensen (past How 2 Tuesday guest) · quarter-ounce nut · jig and jig head · spinning rods · bait casters · fly rods · push-button kids' rod · casting accuracy · reading water · bonefish on the flats · How 2 Tuesday · Saltwater Experience
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.
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 at a time, from casting and knots to gear and the habits that make you a better angler, in short, focused episodes you can put to use right away.
Subscribe to get the latest episodes, show notes, and exclusive content delivered straight to your inbox.