Melissa & Doug Catch & Count Fishing Game

Catch & Count Fishing Game - A magnetic fishing game can make a fisherman out of most.

Catch & Count Fishing Game is a magnetic fishing pole set that includes two fishing poles and 10 fish. Use the spinner and play a game or just have fun fishing in the comfort of your living room.

The pole is made of wood and plastic. At the end of the fishing line there is a magnetic piece encased in plastic. On top of each fish there is a metal tack. Hover the magnetic piece on the pole over the metal piece on the fish. The fish will jump to meet the pole and you have caught yourself a fish! 

The fish are made of wood and each fish is numbered (see image above). The fish increase in size a little as they go from 1 to 5. As you can also see on the image above, there is a big circular wood piece attached to the pole with a smaller wood piece attached to that. Hold the small wood piece in your fingers and as you turn it the fishing line will raise or lower. The line will raise and lower as long as you want to continue turning the knob, but it won't get any longer. 

The fishing line is much shorter than I thought it would be, only a little over a foot when fully lowered and about 10.5" when fully raised, not much difference. You cannot fully reel in the line because the bobber stops it. So if you are going to use this with an older or taller person, they will have to lean over quite a bit to make the line come in contact with any fish that are on the floor. Or you could use it on a table top and raise the arm to hover the magnet over the fish instead.

You can see the boy below is sitting down to fish and the line is pictured at its longest. He is sitting down for a reason. If he stood up he would have to hold the pole in a more vertical position to make the line reach the floor, instead of the horizontal position he is holding it now. The short line is really a drawback for me since I don't work with real young (shorter) kids.

The spinner is large and has the numbers 1-5 on it. The spinner is cardboard and has not held up that well. It is warped and so the arrow will no longer spin around.  

Object:
Catch fish, have the most points when all fish have been caught.

Set up:
Lay the fish on the blue net bag and pretend it is water. Scatter the 10 fish on the bag.

Play:
Players take turns. Spin the spinner to see which fish to pick up. Go fishing and once you catch the fish, take it off and put it by you. Keep taking turns and fishing until all the fish are caught. Add your points and the winner is the person with the most points.  

Try this:

• Play alone. Use the spinner to determine in what order to pick up the fish. Fish until you have caught them all.
• Pretend you are standing on a bridge and stand on a balance beam while fishing. 
• Scatter drawings or pictures of other item in the "lake", such as an old boot, a flat tire, and a rock. Slip a paperclip onto each item so it will attach to the magnet and try to avoid picking them up while you are fishing. Or assign points to them also and try to pick them up.
• Pick up the fish in numerical order or counting backwards.
• Call out a color, number or size for the player to pick up. Eliminate the 2s and 4s, leaving you with 1, 3, and 5. Call out by sizes: small, medium, and large.
• Place the fish at different distances and on both sides of the balance beam so the individual must move and reach and lean to practice dynamic balance while hauling in their catch. 
• Throw down a blue blanket on the floor and pretend it is a lake. Toss the fish in the lake. Pack a snack of fish crackers and take a well-deserved break after you have caught your limit for the day. Then jump into the lake and pretend to swim.
• Scatter the fish so that the individual must recognize the numbers in different orientations, upside down, sideways, etc. 
• Hold the spinner in one hand and flick with the other. Look for a well-rounded web space before you flick.
• Call out a location such as pick up the fish that is to the left of the blue 2.
• Pick up all kinds of things using paperclips and a magnetic fishing pole. Let your imagination run wild. I hope you land a whopper!
• Work on visual discrimination, visual form constancy, figure ground, visual scanning, spatial relations, visual motor integration, manual dexterity, fine motor precision, grasp, bilateral integration, executive functioning skills, balance, sequencing, motor planning, shoulder strength and stability, tool use, process skills, socialization skills, play and leisure exploration and participation

In the box: 2 fishing poles, 10 fish, 1 spinner, blue net bag

If you are interested in purchasing this item or just want more information, click on the image below.