News
2007
July 02, 2007 -
Take Me Fishing
Little Bay De Noc is good fer hookin’ da walleyes dis year. Try draggin’ a shiny crawler harness bout twenty ta tirty feet down wit bottom bouncers ta keep yer bait down. Dem ‘eyes like da choppy water so keep yer rod tip up and yer head on straight. Good luck to yous guys, eh?
Did you get all that? It’s the latest fishing report from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan; around here we call it the UP. It’s Yupper talk for, “the fishing is good.” Big thanks to Steve DeLong, National Park Service employee, who is responsible for the Copper Country Trail National Scenic Byway in Michigan. Check out www.coppercountrytrail.org for information on the byway.
I needed an accurate report on what’s biting because last weekend I joined the millions of people who have a fishing license. Surprised? My dad took me fishing and I have great memories: covering the ice hole with my head and hands so I can see the perch take the bait on Trout Lake, fishing for trout on the Brule River, and bass fishing in the reeds of Dam Lake. My recent interest in fishing is because I have a little boy who is obsessed with fishing. He reads fishing books and his father’s fishing magazines and asks me everyday if I will buy him a fishing pole or a bobber or an ice auger. He even sleeps with his fishing pole!
Fishing is a great way to connect kids with nature. (Remember Richard Louv and Last Child in the Woods? He writes about children’s interaction with nature and how it stimulates creativity and thinking.) My first experience taking all three kids fishing, plus my nephew, was great. My brother-in-law took us to a small lake filled with hungry fish. The kids had a blast! We caught sunfish, a couple of bass, and a beautiful pumpkinseed. It was a little chaotic: four kids, four poles, one narrow dock. The worm bucket took a dip in the lake, but only the fish were hooked so it was a successful trip.
One of the biggest promoters and one of our friends at the national level is the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation. They run the Take Me Fishing campaign. Have you seen it? It is a great campaign aimed at getting adults to take kids fishing. They have great tips for first time fishing, lists of locations (any on a byway?), and downloadable marketing materials for community groups, fishing clubs, conservation groups and local business to use to promote fishing in their local area. You can even go online and add your information about marinas, fishing piers or other related information.
Speaking of marketing materials, we have some great tips and marketing strategies for you to check out (including a link to the Take Me Fishing marketing materials). Just like the perfect tackle box, it has all the right equipment. Go to Topics, click on Visitor Experience, then Marketing/Communications and start browsing, or simply click here.
Here are some interesting statistics on fishing from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (www.fws.gov). The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s website has a boatful of information on how to fish, where to fish, conservation information and links to other fishing resources sites. Every five years they sponsor the National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation. According to the 2006 preliminary report, the survey found that:
- over 30 million people fished;
- approximately 25.0 million anglers enjoyed freshwater fishing while 7.7 enjoyed saltwater fishing;
- anglers fished 17 days, on average, and spent an average of $1,357 on their sport;
- and overall, anglers spent more than $40 billion on trips, equipment, licenses and other items to support their fishing activities.
I know a wise fisherman (and big byway supporter at the national level) who takes his kids fishing. He told me that 99% of the people that get introduced to fishing by an avid angler continue to fish on a regular basis. Ninety-nine percent is an amazing number! The Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation has another great program called Anglers’ Legacy that encourages legacy (avid) anglers to agree to introduce at least one new person to fishing each year. You can check out the program at www.anglerslegacy.org for more information. My husband qualifies as a legacy angler and he’s introduced many people (our kids included) to fishing.
Check out www.byways.org/explore/activities/fishing for stories of where to fish along our byways or update your byway information to include fishing tips and specific locations.
I’m hooked!
Michelle Johnson
Director