I'm taking two of my sons (ages 5 and 3) to Canton China Grove on Saturday morning to go after some bluegills.  We'll probably just use some white bread or a berkley panfish bait, but any property-specific suggestions to make this a great outing for the little guys would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Phil

Dock in front of Roses cabin has the biggest.  I usually chum 4 or 5 bread balls to get the bluegills excited.   You will have no problems catch them. I use no weight just a hook and bobber.

The first pond on left when you come in fish from the dock that goes across lots of gills.

The pond behind  A Frame has lots of gills but smaller in size.  Try to find some shade to fish and lots of drinks.  For the young ones I usually take a bucket and let some of the gills swim in the bucket for awhile.  The little ones like that.    Have fun.

Phil,

I took a friend of mine and his son about 6 weeks ago and we used only white bread.  We fished off the dock by the cabin on the first lake and did fine. The youngster had a great time and a positive first fishing experience.  Several weeks later I went to Martins Mill Lakeside and used Berkley crickets and caught bluegills on almost every cast.  The crickets outfished the bread dramatically. 

Jack and Robert,

This is extremely helpful.  We'll bring both white bread and crickets and target the spots you've recommended.  Thanks for your help.  I'll post an update after the trip.

Phil

Jack and Robert,

Thanks again for your advice.  We had a great time on Saturday.  My boys and I fished the larger of the ponds at the property -- the one that has a couple of docks on it.  We used Berkley crickets and white bread, but had the most luck with the simplest rig possible:  white bread on a small hook, with no weight and no bobber.  Once we switched to that simple set-up, boys caught about 30 bluegills.  The property was very nice, as was the owner, Mr. Weatherford.   Additionally, the dock we chose was large enough to set up our 10’x10’ shade canopy, which really made the difference in keeping the kids from getting too hot. 

I think it’s worth noting, however, that because the owner leases out several cabins on the property, there were several other folks fishing and fairly frequent vehicle traffic on the roads around the ponds.   During the 3 hours we fished, there were at least 2-4 other people fishing at all times.    It was kind of like being at a city park rather than an isolated rural setting.  So while this was a good option for taking kids, if you are looking for a quiet lake to have to yourself, this is probably not the one. 

Thanks again for your helpful suggestions.

Phil