How to have a great camping and fishing trip with young kids at Silent Lake Provincial Park…and stay (mostly) sane

Step 6

Divide and conquer

If you’ve got more than two kids, and you’re the only angler, don’t take them all out at the same time unless you have to. Instead split them up into groups of two, or just go with one. In our case, Ben woke up on our last day at the park with a nasty stye on his eye so my spouse Norine took him to a clinic in nearby Bancroft. That gave me the morning to fish with Maya and Sam, so I then took Ben out when he and his mom got back in the afternoon. In a busy household like ours, getting one-on-one time with either kid is tough, so it was a good chance for some quality bonding time and an opportunity to work on basic techniques like opening the bail of the reel, casting, jigging and how to just look cool in a fishing hat and vintage waterski lifejacket.