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Serving Northern St. Louis County, Minnesota

Getting kids hooked on fishing

Jodi Summit
Posted 3/19/15

REGIONAL - Ten years old is the perfect age to get kids hooked on fishing. And an important part of the Governor’s Fishing Opener is showing the next generation how much fun the lifetime sport of …

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Getting kids hooked on fishing

Posted

REGIONAL - Ten years old is the perfect age to get kids hooked on fishing. And an important part of the Governor’s Fishing Opener is showing the next generation how much fun the lifetime sport of fishing can be. And luckily for the youth in Tower-Soudan, Cook, Orr, and Nett Lake, there is a group of dedicated volunteers getting ready to make this happen.

Area fourth-graders from Tower-Soudan, North Woods, and Nett Lake schools are getting the opportunity to learn all about fishing during a special day-long “Take a Kid Fishing” event set for Friday, May 7 at Fortune Bay.

The students have been learning about fish and fish ecology with help from MinnAqua Education Specialist Nadine Meyer and local fishing guide Buck Lescarbeau, who have done two sets of visits to each fourth-grade class. They have learned about the biology and ecology of fish and their local lakes.

During the “Take a Kid Fishing” event they will receive their own life jackets, fishing poles, and tackle boxes, as well as a special commemorative t-shirt, and then get hands-on lessons on how to rig their own poles, tie their own knots, attach their own bait, and then get the chance to wet their lines from the docks at the marina. At the end of the day, they get to bring their new gear home, so hopefully they can continue to fish all summer long.

The young fisher folk will be learning to catch-and-release pan fish, since the regular fishing season doesn’t open until the following day. Volunteers from the Lake Vermilion Guides League and Women Anglers of Minnesota will be on hand to assist the young anglers.