Which is more fun, fishing or minecraft?

Minecraft Fishing Wallpaper by DeviantArt

I had a lovely day yesterday teaching three boys aged 9-12 to fish. They had never held a rod before and all did brilliantly. It was almost three hours before they started to become restless. And then they kept going for another twenty minutes so their mum could catch her first ever fish.

At one point, after a fast start, one of them said something about there being more action in Minecraft. So I risked it…”Which is more fun, playing Minecraft or catching your two pound bream?” and without hesitation the two pound fish won the day.

All three boys (and their mum) caught fish. Perch, bream, roach, chub and rudd all put in an appearance. The boys learned to hook on maggots, strike and play a fish then land it, unhook it and release it. They were all brave enough to hold their fish and I hope there are some really proud grandparents out there looking at the photos they took.

I can imagine the next time it’s a nice weekend, if their parents suggest fishing then they’ll jump at the chance (possibly ;-) ).