My son is almost 11 and is really excited about fishing. I haven't fished all that much myself. I enjoy it but don't really know much. What are some good resources you all would recommend? Youtube channels, shows, books, whatever to help us get started?

What kind of gear is good for beginners?

We are in Dallas a few minutes from White Rock Lake so we can practice there and venture to real spots as we have time.

Appreciate the help!

If I'm not mistaken Crappie, Bass and Catfish are the primary fish in White Rock lake.
I would start simple. Bobber, an Aberdeen #2 size hook and live bait (Minnows)
If fisherman's supply in Garland is open, I would try there for live bait.

As far as rods and reels go.... I'd come up with a budget and hit Academy. You can go species specific or general until you figure out what you REALLY want to target. You can get a couple combos reasonably priced.

Bass lures and tackle is fun to buy and to use but can get frustrating throwing countless things with zero bites but that is also how you learn what they want...unfortunately

For videos: Flukemaster, Fishin n Stuff, fishingwithnorm and Cats and Carp. These are some good informative video creators that you can actually learn stuff from. Not just someone showing you that they can catch fish.
Your boy would probably like Googan Squad...They aren't bad IMO but they don't really teach much. They have done a lot of marketing work and have gear in practically every outdoor store. So if he is anything like my boys he will watch a video and then want to go buy their gear.

Ugly stik rod and zebco closed face reel are a great starting set. 8-10lb test line. Bass pro usually has combo deals already put together like that. Starter kit tackle box already put together by the box stores is a good investment over trying to piecemeal your starting gear.

As for what to start with, good old nightcrawler earthworms on a small hook with a bobber. Most things will bite that. Cats, bass, crappie, perch etc.

Zebco! I still have a few and use them all the time. Started my kids with top-waters so they get distracted the lure just sits there and doesn't float the bottom and get stuck

Guys above are right...bobber and minnow or earth worms are perfect place to start
Do NOT start them with a baitcast reel.
Richard gene fishing machine on YouTube does decent teaching...he's crappie focused but mixes in bass and catfish from time to time

Zebco is a must. I would start out with worms under a bobber or stink bait for catfish.

I lived next to White Rock for 3 years and fished it a few dozen times. Never caught anything on the fly or with conventional gear. I would always see a bunch of people fishing but never catching (unless the white bass run was going on in the Spring). I found it a tough place to fish.

I had much better luck fishing Turtle Creek around HP and south.

Lots of good avice here so far. Best way to learn is by doing or a guide. Online research helps but doing it teaches you more

Yall come to NW CO and I will take you fly fishing. No charge.

Call Luck O' the Irish guide service on Grapevine Lake. I see him all the time with kids and dads. Usually catch the heck outta' Sand Bass. EZ fishing !

I live right by white rock too. The fishing is pretty sad but I've had luck fly fishing for brim up white rock creek.Just FYI the water in white rock lake is a biohazard make sure y'all wash your hands. Closest decent lake is Lavon, it's good for crappie and fair for bass.

My suggestion is to watch all the Bill Dance blooper videos to learn what fishing is really about.

For White Rock, I had luck parking behind the Arboretum and fishing the rocks by the point. Spin cast reel with a drop shot worm worked the best and should be fairly simple to learn.

Hoyt Ag said:

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Lots of good avice here so far. Best way to learn is by doing or a guide. Online research helps but doing it teaches you more

Yall come to NW CO and I will take you fly fishing. No charge.

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That's a generous offer Hoyt Ag.

OP, have you ever gone fly fishing or considered it? If not you'll probably get hooked first time out. Could be something you enjoy with your son for life.

Do you know what gear y'all have fished with in the past?

Like others said start with the simple stuff, Zebco's and ugly sticks. They work, aren't going to hurt the wallet, and you'd have to really try to break them. Then maybe get into spinners

Stay away from the bait casters, you'll spend more time cleaning out rats nest than you will be fishing if you aren't used to them.

Worms/leeches, bobbers, and time with my dad are how I started. Still makes me smile watching him cuss about me catching a turtle.

Crappie - get jigs
Bass - lures are fun but it takes some learning and patience. Worms with Texas Rigs are always a crowd pleaser
Catfish - bobbers, smelly chicken hearts/livers, anything that stinks to high heaven

Like anything it's a bottomless pit nowadays and the YouTube and knowledge is endless.

YouTube:
Googan squad: Not the greatest info but they make it fun and entertaining. They have amazing marketing and remind me of the Dude Perfect of the outdoor world. Have some good stuff both in clothes and equipment

LakeForkGuy: He is a more wholesome YouTuber and keeps it clean and family based. He is with Googan squad but he's an all around great guy for showing kids (and others) how to fish, hunt, and be a dad/husband. Good stuff.

Bill Dance Bloopers are the best, can never go wrong with the ol' boy

**one thing you will want to get, long pliers to remove hooks and cut line **

Good luck and have fun!

ETA: correct Justin's YouTube

You could also try the Hank Hill method

"LakeForkDude: He is a more wholesome YouTuber and keeps it clean and family based. He is with Googan squad but he's an all around great guy for showing kids (and others) how to fish, hunt, and be a dad/husband. Good stuff."

His YouTube channel is actually LakeForkGuy. Justin is an Aggie and it's an enjoyable channel to watch for sure.

Hoyt Ag said:

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Lots of good avice here so far. Best way to learn is by doing or a guide. Online research helps but doing it teaches you more

Yall come to NW CO and I will take you fly fishing. No charge.

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Wow. That is so generous. Thank you! I will definitely take you up on that at some point. My email is username at yahoo dot com. We have family in the Springs so we could absolutely plan a trip that involved a venture NW.

Ranch Dressing said:

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Hoyt Ag said:

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Lots of good avice here so far. Best way to learn is by doing or a guide. Online research helps but doing it teaches you more

Yall come to NW CO and I will take you fly fishing. No charge.

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That's a generous offer Hoyt Ag.

OP, have you ever gone fly fishing or considered it? If not you'll probably get hooked first time out. Could be something you enjoy with your son for life.

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We actually did a fly fishing lesson during COVID. We got tired of being stuck home and went to Montana for a couple of weeks. We had a great time doing the lesson. I didn't know if it was something we could do in Texas though to be honest.

I wasn't sure how strongly he was interested in it so I didn't bother digging in too much.

Here we are two years later and he's got a bug about fishing. That's what he asked for Christmas was fishing gear. And keeps asking me to go out to White Rock with the little junk rod we have. Not sure what sparked his interest all of a sudden but I want to try and learn with him while it's there.

Chief77 said:

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Call Luck O' the Irish guide service on Grapevine Lake. I see him all the time with kids and dads. Usually catch the heck outta' Sand Bass. EZ fishing !

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Thanks for the tip. I'll definitely give them a try!

MIAGD said:

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For White Rock, I had luck parking behind the Arboretum and fishing the rocks by the point. Spin cast reel with a drop shot worm worked the best and should be fairly simple to learn.

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Awesome. We'll have to try that out.

Ever done Bowfishing? We have a guide we have gone out with 5+ times already and he caters to both kids and adults and fishes out of central and north Texas, including Waco. Fun trips at night. Base trip is 4hr. Seth is a good dude and his rig is awesome.

Hes running his Black Friday special right now
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid0eV5w5z62hs4Dg8GTnt4hLmgpXPWgtso4yzNiu3noVr87r1ijxGdcsooUccZystiLl&id=100028020596422&mibextid=Nif5oz

https://www.slimelifebowfishing.com/

I started at about ten with a Zebco 33. Caught bass out of farm ponds ("tanks" in Texas). Then one day every time I hooked a bass the line broke. It turned out that the cheap rod the Zebco 33 came with had cheap guides that had worn a grove in the top one and was cutting my line. I save up some lawn mower money and bought an Ambassadeur 5500C and a better rod. It did not take me long to stop the back lashes and I could horse the bass out of the weeds as long as I had 14 lb Stren or stronger. This was long ago though when tackle wasn't so expensive. I still have that 5500C. Now I have a Daiwa Tatula that never backlashes.

FatZilla said:

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Ever done Bowfishing? We have a guide we have gone out with 5+ times already and he caters to both kids and adults and fishes out of central and north Texas, including Waco. Fun trips at night. Base trip is 4hr. Seth is a good dude and his rig is awesome.

Hes running his Black Friday special right now
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid0eV5w5z62hs4Dg8GTnt4hLmgpXPWgtso4yzNiu3noVr87r1ijxGdcsooUccZystiLl&id=100028020596422&mibextid=Nif5oz

https://www.slimelifebowfishing.com/

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FYI - The state has some good basic info https://tpwd.texas.gov/education/angler-education/learn-to-fish

My 10 year old boy is eat up with fishing. He's fortunate in that his dad and both grandfathers also love to fish. In addition to learning from them, he's picked up a lot by reading fishing and hunting magazines and catalogs. My dad has subscriptions and gives my son a stack every month or so.

He also loves to watch Richard Gene the Fishing Machine.

Get him a magazine subscription-
1) encourages his interest in fishing
2) strengthens reading and comprehension skills without him realizing it!

Great tip! Any magazine in particular you recommend?

When Bill hits his knee on that trailer hitch it hurts me just to watch, but I still laugh!

I don't know what all he has but I just did a quick scan of his room and Game & Fish South seems to be the most common one.

The Lane Walker fishing book series is great for that age (the hunting series is good too).

Shameless plug of two videos he made for my previous employer:

This one has a "Bill Dance moment"-
https://www.facebook.com/share/v/3vZDxe3oFyqC95KP/?mibextid=UVffzb

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/32uR64Cik51cTzym/?mibextid=UVffzb

Check the Texas Fishing Forum for advice on placed to fish. I fished WWL quite a bit and have had only caught a few, it can be a bit discouraging especially for a young man looking to catch a fish. Turtle creek isn't bad because you can spot fish in spots if you don't mind small fish. A spincaster is probably the easiest to learn on. throw a small topwater if you want excitement or just a worm and bobber is fine too.

Don't forget your fishing license. Yes, I watch too much Lone Star Law.

Yep, start spin cast as it minimizes backlashes and is the easiest to learn technique. Practice casting a weight in the yard for a while actually does help. Bait fish at first. The humble hot dog is a remarkably versatile bait, actually. A short chunk on hotdog on a hook has caught me thousands of fish. Worms, crickets, prepared baits from a jar, also work.

Once casting is learned, you can move to using a spinning reel, which will be easier to cast repeatedly and more accurately than a spin cast once mastered, and introduce basic lutes like spoons, jigs, spinnerbaits, diving plugs.

Then you can try the baitcast reel.

Much of my outdoors activity is fishing related and I most often use spinning reels as I find them the most versatile and easy to use. The goal at first should be to graduating to these, and learning how to fish lures as well as baits, but that takes some experience to develop.

And while all this is happening, there is learning to understand the fish themselves, which fish will be where, when, and what draws their interest in particular conditions and seasons. That is all earned Knowledge from a lot of trial and error or fishing with someone that already knows it and can explain why what they are doing is working.

I did this as a kid, practicing casting in my yard. For bait we would dig up worms or catch grasshoppers. Sometimes, my dad would buy a box of frozen shrimp to use. These were some great times with him. Wish I could go back to those simpler times. He would have been 100 last month.

FatZilla said:

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Ever done Bowfishing? We have a guide we have gone out with 5+ times already and he caters to both kids and adults and fishes out of central and north Texas, including Waco. Fun trips at night. Base trip is 4hr. Seth is a good dude and his rig is awesome.

Hes running his Black Friday special right now
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid0eV5w5z62hs4Dg8GTnt4hLmgpXPWgtso4yzNiu3noVr87r1ijxGdcsooUccZystiLl&id=100028020596422&mibextid=Nif5oz

https://www.slimelifebowfishing.com/

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I've gone out with Seth three times. It's tons of fun, and Seth makes it so easy for beginners with his laser light technique. Definitely recommend. It's a great Christmas gift for grandfather, dad, and son trips. Definitely recommend SlimeLife