I just started fishing again after my father took my 6 yr old out and now he is hooked. I am having the worst luck after 10 days of fishing not a single bite. . I stopped fishing for 18 years but I can still pinpoint a cast up to about 75ft. I have just about every lure in the book. SO my question is this anything really hot for catching fish right now? I really wanna see my son catch a fish

Green pumpkin colored senko's (the actual Gary Yamamoto kind, not cheap knockoffs).  I took my lil brother fishing (hes 12) for the first time and even he caught a bass with em.  Good luck buddy!

Ask some locals. Maybe a tackle shop ect...  Senkos are a good bet this time of year. So is a dropshot. Both of these set ups are great for kids because you can't really fish them wrong. If your standing in one place on the bank this is not much good either. Focus on points, rocks brush ect...

From your post, I'm guessing you are in So. CA. That being the case, what kind of equipment are you using; spinning or baitcasting? Are you a shore-bound angler or do you have a boat? If you have a boat, does it have a sonar? And do you know how to use it? What kind of lures are you using? The water you are fishing; clear or stained....deep or shallow? What kind of bait fish are present (you can ask the locals this)? Lots of variables, most of which we'd have to know if we can give you a decent response to your question.

When you take a child fishing you have to realize a few things to make sure they enjoy the outing and will want to go again.

1.  Make sure the weather is nice, not too hot or cold nor raining or windy. Put sunscreen on them so mom won't go balistic if they come home red as a lobster.  And have them wear a baseball cap and sunglasses, if possible.

2.  Give them an ultra-light spinning rig, consisting of a small spinning reel (750 or 1000 size) and an ultra-light spinning rod.  

3.  Spool spinning reel with four-pound line, either mono or fluorocarbon.

4.  Get a small bobber, or cork.

5.  Purchase some #6 long shank gold hooks. You need the long shank to remove the hook when the fish swallow the hook as the child lets the fish run with the bait before setting the hook.

6.  Buy some live minnows, Nightcrawlers (worms) or Red Worms.  Wal-Mart usually carries Nightcrawlers at a very good price.

7.  Bring some needle nose pliers and a scissors with you.  Use pliers to remove hooks and scissors to cut line when re-rigging.

8.  Rig up worms or minnows and let the child fish.  Guaranteed to get bit by a bream or a bluegill. Make sure they watch the bobber and you wll have to tell them when to set the hook.  Be sure to watch for slack in the line as they have no idea what "tight lines" means.

Remember, your first challenge is to have the kid catch something to continue their interest as their attention spans are very, very short and they can get bored if they are not catching anything.

In the meantime, rig up your spinning rod and reel with a 1/0 or 2/0 hook and either throw a Senko, weightless, or a finesse worm with a light bullet weight.  Smear MegaStrike on your plastics.

You fish your plastics and the child fishes live bait.

Just be ready to take the fish off the kid's hook as he murders them and you stand there, waiting for a bite.  ;D

After the child starts catching fish you can have him/her start to cross over to artificial baits, especially if you are catching them on your Senkos or finesse worms.  Do this slowly by changing rigs and allowing the child to use your plastics setup.

If the kid is not getting bites on the plastics, switch back to the live bait.

Last time I took young boys fishing, the 8 year old caught a big four pound bass while the 11 year old nailed some nice bluegills.  All on Nightcrawlers.

Of course, they want to go again this summer as they had a good time with great memories of CATCHING SOMETHING.

If the child gets skunked, it can turn them off to fishing.

PATIENCE is your best ally and with me being Type A, it drives me nuts to just stand there, waiting for them to catch something, showing them how to remove the hook, re-baiting their hook and getting out of the way when they cast.

But it is fun and you will have some great memories.

So....for all of us.....take a kid fishing.        

Thanks for replies

Ok now a little more info

Before going fishing I did ask most of the fisherman at the lake facilities what are the hot baits and I was told Berkley gulp minnows.

I haven't fished in 18yrs but i have more than 20yrs fishing experience. When it comes to rods and reels I have just about everything you can imagine

I set my son up with an old Shakespear spincast reel and a 5 foot light action rod - Spincast (closed faced reels) are super easy for kids to cast.

I purchased some 5" senkos both watermelon and pumpkin, also some gulp minnows.

Water is clear to lightly stained depending on the day.

Was mainly wondering if any other baits are  really hot.

Sam nailed it. If you follow those directions, things should get better.

Falcon

Call Don Iovino and he will set you up for our local lakes, including the Castiac lagoon; 818/848.6180

8" to 10" plastic worms or 6" & 8" Huddleston swimbaits are good choices for the lower lagoon. PM me and I can give you some specific in formation that will work for both you and your young fisherman.

WRB

WRB I sent you a PM

Welcome back JC, i started up again after over 20 yrs.  So far most of the lakes my Son and I fish here in so.cal we've caught most off them on senco's weightless or drop shot wacky rigged. Senco's that work best for us are the pumpkin with red flakes, or the oxblood robo worms.

When fishing the Senkos, do you float them under a bobber or on thier own?  I never fished wacky style, so I am trying to learn that.

JC, answered your PM, good luck.

Senko's are designed to make slight wiggle movements as they sink using a 3/0 to 5/0 worm hook, no weight. Today Senko's are fished nearly every way possible. The wacky rigged, drop shot technique works well and a small rubber O-ring slid over the worm and back about 1/3rd will save some Senko's from being lost. Think slow saturation fishing a small area.

WRB

We fish em without bobbers or weights in some cases, it all depends on what the situation is and what the fish like. Senco's will sink, I wouldn't fish em in real deep water. You can see how to rig a wacky worm by googling "wacky rig" Wacky rigs can be used drop shoting too.

When fishing the Senkos, do you float them under a bobber or on thier own? I never fished wacky style, so I am trying to learn that.

Ill give you the same advice i got from the peeps here.

Get a bag of Garry yammamoto (Spelling) Yama Senko's Green With Black Flake or Fat Ika in same color Tie on Texas style with polamar knot to a 4/0 Gamakatzu hook and fish.... Cast out let it sink . Count to 30 .... Reel in a few inches ... jerk up.... wait and count to 30 repeat. until lure is back at the tip of the pole

If I was starting my son again I'd go after pan fish with either worms or minnows depending on what fish were available.. A small hook and a slip bobber and an appropriate split shot. With youngsters the thing is action.

As said; use live bait for the youngster.  Minnows never fail.