When taking kids fishing, where you decide to fish is the biggest thing that will make it successful – the same applies to catching koi. 

Finding the right place to fish is the hardest part of any kid-koi adventure, unlike a “normal” fishing trip, the ability to play in the dirt or ride bikes makes the outing more fun for everyone. I have been lucky to find just such a place in a shopping center of all places. There is a walking trail for riding bikes and another area for playing in the dirt. Other places have even had a playground right near the pond! However, I have found that most larger towns will have a spot and cities maybe a few. City parks are often a good place to look. One of the best ways to find places is to get on Google maps or Earth and see where there is water. Then see if the water has any access. Sometimes it’s not easy to see if you can get to the water or not so drive around to the locations and take a look in person.

After you have found a spot that looks like it fits the criteria, then you have to find out if there are koi in it. If the water is somewhat clear koi are fairly easy to spot so get you polarized glasses on and take a walk around and see if there is anything to see. I bring along a bad or bread just in case I see something interesting, and will also bait a spot and come back in a bit and see if there are any koi feeding – it has paid off!

Rigging for koi can be as simple as you want. For my kids I tend to stick with super simple, like a hook and split shot for most fishing. If a farther cast is needed a slip bobber is good. Koi often are used to feeding near the surface to a slow sinking bait with a bobber can work really well. The pictures below give an idea of the rigging I use on my rod. Scroll over the pictures for captions. Enjoy!