MIBowhunter
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Teach kids to fish; they'll get hooked
May 7, 2004
BY ERIC SHARP
FREE PRESS COLUMNIST
When we were 10, my friends and I could lash our fishing rods across the handles of our bicycles, put our tackle in backpacks and ride a couple of miles after school to a river where we caught bluegills and bass. Even kids who lived in town could hop on bikes and be fishing in 30 minutes to an hour.
It was the 1950s, and our parents weren't freaked out by fears we would be kidnapped by child slavery rings (or maybe they just didn't care). And they didn't worry a lot about traffic because there wasn't much.
Crime statistics show that the average American suburb is as safe for children today as it was when I was 10. But immensely improved and increased reporting of crime across the nation has made us much more aware and fearful about the possibility of bad things happening to children.
As the suburbs sprouted, developers turned many creeks into storm drains where fish are only a memory. Finding a place to fish around most metropolitan areas means riding miles in heavy traffic. What were once two-lane roads are now four-lane highways, where the speed limit is 45 and the traffic moves at 60.
About the only way urban and suburban kids can go fishing today is for an adult to take them. Which brings up another problem -- many adults are products of those fishless urban deserts, and while they would like to teach their children to fish, they don't know how.
Project FISH, or Friends Involved in Sportfishing Heritage, is a good way to change that. Coordinated by Michigan State University's fisheries and wildlife department, this educational effort is holding a workshop in Algonac in May. Teachers, parents and grandparents -- and people who just want to help children learn to fish -- can learn how to teach them.
Participants in the workshop at the Algonac Community Center will attend 12 hours of instruction broken into three-hour sessions on May 18, 20, 25 and 27. It costs $50, and participants get a rod and reel, some basic tackle and a casting game.
"We'll clean and cook fish, print them on a T-shirt, dig around in the water to see what they eat and learn a bit about ethics and mentoring," said Mark Stephens, who runs Project FISH. "We'll make tackle from flies to crawler harnesses, and then these folks will have the skills and confidence to work with kids in their communities."
If you're one of those people who have bemoaned the fact that we're not recruiting young anglers, why not take the class in Algonac? It's ridiculous that a lot more children don't get a chance to try fishing in a state with 11,000 lakes, 36,000 miles of rivers and creeks and more coastline than Florida.
For more information, contact Stephens at 517-432-2700, or visit the group's Web site at www.projectfish.org. The registration deadline is May 12.
May 7, 2004
BY ERIC SHARP
FREE PRESS COLUMNIST
When we were 10, my friends and I could lash our fishing rods across the handles of our bicycles, put our tackle in backpacks and ride a couple of miles after school to a river where we caught bluegills and bass. Even kids who lived in town could hop on bikes and be fishing in 30 minutes to an hour.
It was the 1950s, and our parents weren't freaked out by fears we would be kidnapped by child slavery rings (or maybe they just didn't care). And they didn't worry a lot about traffic because there wasn't much.
Crime statistics show that the average American suburb is as safe for children today as it was when I was 10. But immensely improved and increased reporting of crime across the nation has made us much more aware and fearful about the possibility of bad things happening to children.
As the suburbs sprouted, developers turned many creeks into storm drains where fish are only a memory. Finding a place to fish around most metropolitan areas means riding miles in heavy traffic. What were once two-lane roads are now four-lane highways, where the speed limit is 45 and the traffic moves at 60.
About the only way urban and suburban kids can go fishing today is for an adult to take them. Which brings up another problem -- many adults are products of those fishless urban deserts, and while they would like to teach their children to fish, they don't know how.
Project FISH, or Friends Involved in Sportfishing Heritage, is a good way to change that. Coordinated by Michigan State University's fisheries and wildlife department, this educational effort is holding a workshop in Algonac in May. Teachers, parents and grandparents -- and people who just want to help children learn to fish -- can learn how to teach them.
Participants in the workshop at the Algonac Community Center will attend 12 hours of instruction broken into three-hour sessions on May 18, 20, 25 and 27. It costs $50, and participants get a rod and reel, some basic tackle and a casting game.
"We'll clean and cook fish, print them on a T-shirt, dig around in the water to see what they eat and learn a bit about ethics and mentoring," said Mark Stephens, who runs Project FISH. "We'll make tackle from flies to crawler harnesses, and then these folks will have the skills and confidence to work with kids in their communities."
If you're one of those people who have bemoaned the fact that we're not recruiting young anglers, why not take the class in Algonac? It's ridiculous that a lot more children don't get a chance to try fishing in a state with 11,000 lakes, 36,000 miles of rivers and creeks and more coastline than Florida.
For more information, contact Stephens at 517-432-2700, or visit the group's Web site at www.projectfish.org. The registration deadline is May 12.
