June 6, 2016 at 4:30 p.m.
Lake lessons: Kids learn about angling at 4-H Family Fishing Fun Day
Lake lessons: Kids learn about angling at 4-H Family Fishing Fun Day
Each year the DNR holds a Free Fishing Weekend on the first full weekend of June.
No licenses are needed to fish anywhere in the state, although all other regulations still apply. For the 12th year, the Oneida County 4-H Club has held this event in conjunction with free fishing weekend, and it gets bigger every year, according to coordinator Ann Williams.
"Despite the rain we've had a decent turnout so far," she said. "I think this is truly a unique event in this area. It's totally family-oriented. The first 100 youth walk away with their own tackle boxes. We've got a ton of sponsors that give away prizes, and we've got 45 or 50 volunteers form the area who are involved here today."
Williams said the emphasis is on education and getting kids involved in the outdoors. Participants learned how to cast, where to fish, how to read a map, and a host of other things as they made their way through the 17 stations, getting their card marked at each one.
Once the youth visited every station, they brought their card back to the registration station and received a free tackle box.
Representatives from Oneida County AIS were present to show kids and their families different invasive species and to provide information about those species. Fishing Hot Spots educated kids on how to read fishing maps so they could understand why they should fish in certain areas. Suzanna and Abbey Lyon were two of the 4-H volunteers who were teaching younger kids about fishing regulations.
"We are giving information on the rules of fishing, where not to fish, how many fish you can bring home and what size you can keep," Suzanna said. This was the sisters' first year in 4-H and they both said they were enjoying the event very much, despite the drizzle that came and went throughout the morning. Working with the younger kids was a lot of fun for them, Abbey said.
DNR fisheries biologist John Kubisiak manned the DNR station and spoke with kids about fish management and how fish populations in area lakes are managed. He had a sample fyke net set up so the kids could get some hands-on experience with the some of the equipment the DNR uses to estimate fish populations.
The Crescent Fire Department held minnow races, which left kids giggling as they attempted to direct their minnow to the other end of the aquatic race track. The Rhinelander Fire Department also turned out to let kids look through their vehicles and try out the fire hose for themselves.
Let's Go Fishing gave pontoon boat rides to groups of kids throughout the event and The Fishin' Hole got kids involved by showing them the different types of live bait used in fishing and how to put them on a hook.
Overall the event had a large draw, for a rainy Saturday morning. Kids splashed in puddles on the way from one station to another, showing their parents prizes they'd won, and even stopping at the ice cream truck for a free creamsicle.
One hundred youth left with their own tackle boxes and, hopefully, a love of fishing that will last a lifetime.
Beckie Joki may be reached at [email protected].
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