No mission is more easily accomplished than a successful fishing expedition. Skip the high-speed bass boat slamming around to make waves and points. Instead, follow a plan of poking along, following a stream or shoreline, educating, communicating, teaching of the natural world rather than the mechanical. A row skiff can provide the ultimate training aid, but they're hard to find nowadays. A good substitute is a john boat, with low horsepower engine, for you're attempting to teach fishing, not power boating.
Nothing works better than a cane pole with a very small bobber.
I prefer starting a potential fishing sport with a stick type of float. The lighter the float, the more sensitive, and the easier to sense a curious fish working over the bait. Sooner or later, the hook will snag, and a soft, long-shanked hook can usual be straightened without loss of anything more than bait. At this time of year, with shad in such a cooperative mood, a visit to your favorite shad run might produce the equivalent of an exciting big-game sport, equal to trout or salmon elsewhere. The day was one of those perfect days.