My son caught a bream on his very first cast.

We were perched on the banks of the Brunswick River in Northern NSW on a sticky Sunday afternoon. He’d just turned 3 and barely the right side of nappies.

It was a very small fish, but a fish nonetheless and we were beside ourselves with joy. We snapped the obligatory photo and slipped it back into the drink.

He then caught a 15 inch flathead on his second cast.

I briefly wondered whether we’d birthed a fish whisperer before realising this was, in fact, a catastrophic way to begin a fishing hobby; a lifelong pursuit supposedly defined by the crushing absence of fish.

Sure enough, on every trip since, if there’s not a nibble within five minutes I get a very confident shake of the head that says: “Nah, no fish here, Dad.”

For most dads who didn’t grow up doing it, like me, fishing sits firmly in the ‘we should probably do that’ category. But it never quite happens, largely because it all seems a bit overwhelming. Gear, locations, licences, knots, and the very real fear of trying to unhook a fish without accidentally maiming it.

So I spoke to Will Millard. He’s a lifelong angler, BBC presenter and author of My First Day Fishing, to work out how you actually get started.