Ideas for a 6yo...

[Kzehr75]

4x4 headhunter swimbait jighead and a keitech. weedless and it catches a ton of fish.

[Thefisherman64]

COOPERMAN LOVES HIS RIBBIT FROGS. THEY WOULD WORK

[Gsmith223]

popping toad like the zman. They can make it make noise and can see the action on top. Never give them treble hooks IMO

[jbassman87]

Horny toad

[dstep0]

1/4 Spinnerbait and 1/4 Vibrating Jig. Light weights so if he pauses it won't be stuck on the bottom as much.

[smalljawguy]

Small swim baits with no exposed hook,rigged Texas style.!! My grandson of 8 yo caught a 5lb er last week with one on his maiden voyage in the boat.!!

+1 or a 1/4 ounce weedless jig with a grub or swimbait.

[BP in ME]

Take him shopping so he can pick out a couple of his baits that aren't hand-me-downs or chosen by you. He might get more excited about using certain ones he chose. My daughter picked out some soft plastics that she called "googly eyes". She fished them with more confidence and got more action.

[adrenalnjunky]

I know it sounds advanced, but try teaching him to pitch a T rigged craw with a spincaster. My kiddo is 7 and he got the concept down pretty quickly. That way, when you're in around trees and laydowns, he can throw up in there with a snagless bait, and not end up in the overhead limbs.

[dstep0]

Mats guys... we are fishing mats. Unless there’s a way to fish a whopper plopper over a mat I’m thinking something else.

You should probably get away from the mats when you have the kid in the boat. Not only is flipping technical, a kid (most kids) can't handle the beefy tackle to get the job done. When you have the kid in the boat, the focus should change to catching fish, not being competitive in the derby. There's got to be other locations on the lake without matted veg. Just my thoughts.

[Casslaw]

I agree with the 1/4 oz spinnerbait, chatterbait recommendation. Also, a shallow squarebill deflects off a lot of things, that’s why they were designed. If the mats are that heavy, I love my buzz frogs! Any kid would love the little buzz frog!

[Ryan]

Bluegill fishing. If he’s 6 a fish is a fish.

[Grizzly]

My wife out fishes me with a Senko. She just casts it out and lets it sit there.

[jbassman87]

Sometimes I wonder if people really read what a person writes.

[Stoner]

Whopper plopper

Or a toad runner, love this thing and it will keep their attention. Weedless and can throw anywhere, the bites are explosive too

[coreynov902]

5" Texas-rigged weightless Senko would be my number one choice. A Z-Man poppin shad (weightless Texas-rigged) would be my number two choice. My son has not learned to set the hook yet, but with a Senko the bass tend to hook themselves a lot. He just reels when he gets a bite and even though he misses fish, he catches some as well. Depending on how thick the mats are that you are fishing, he can just drag the Senko over the top like a frog. I've had fish blow up on a Senko like that. As others have said, nothing will get a kid hooked on bass fishing like a topwater bite.

[remaly181]

I fish a lot of grassy areas. When my son was 7, I started him with a Northland Jaw-breaker which is a spoon type bait that has one hook and just rides the surface of the mat. The fish will mostly hook themselves. I will tip the thing with a soft plastic to keep it up a bit more for him. He is 11 now and primarily uses a Quantum Bullet spincast for topwater as it holds braid well and is 5.1:1. He uses spinning gear but when we get in the thick stuff, his go to is the Bullet with 40# braid.

[skeeterator]

Sometimes I wonder if people really read what a person writes.

You should have known the answer to that question 13 years ago and the answer is No.

[DrewFlu33]

Texas rigged weightless Senko seems like the obvious choice as others have mentioned. Will come through the stuff easily, is easy to cast, and he can't fish it wrong. Even if he casts it out and winds it in he 's got a pretty good shot, and also like others have said there's a really good chance the fish hooks itself.

[Milehibird]

Have him throw a small crappie spinnerbait. Light hook and you can get big bites from them sometimes.
Get some weedless ned heads.
Here's a fun one...get a small willow blade and a CPS, texas rig a 4" senko on a light hook, then screw the blade in the back and have him swim it.
Weedless chatterbait
Weedless underspin

[WPS456]

Thanks for not only simply opening your home to foster kids but also pouring in and investing in him and being a dad for him...big thumbs up!!! I vote for a frog or maybe go old school and break out one of those old rats that float across the surface. Even if he misses a bunch, the action/hits will be fun.