WAYNEDALE OUTDOORS Q & A

(A column, whereas, you the reader may ask Ben questions about camping, cooking, hunting, fishing, or anything concerning living in our Great Outdoors.)

 

TEACHIN’ FISHIN’

 

As my dad would have said, “Ain’t no big secret ta fishin’, jest go do it.” He was assuming of course that you knew the basics of fishin’. When I was Scoutmaster of Troop 38, sometime back, I would set aside one weekend during the summer for what I called a Fishin’ Campout. We didn’t work on badges or rank advancement other than maybe the fishing merit badge and advancements having to do with setting up the campsite, learning to tie fishing knots, building fires, and cooking our catch of course.

I encouraged the boys to bring their tackle boxes and rods. A lot of the boys didn’t have fishing equipment. I made sure that I had spare rods and reels and enough bee moths to go around. We went ‘fishin’ the whole weekend but still camped by the Boy Scout book with safety in mind first off.

We never caught a lot of fish but the boys did manage a bluegill or two and those were enough for me to show the boys how to clean them and they even fried a few. The boys’ were astonished to find that fish didn’t all come in ‘stick’s from a cardboard box out of the freezer.

Want to teach your offspring how to fish? Go to the Bait & Hook Store on Winchester Road and purchase a basic fishing kit (bamboo rod, line, hook, sinker, and bobber all in one package) and a container of bee moths. That’s really all you’ll need but I would take some extra hooks, sinkers, and bobbers along. If your kids have never fished before then you might be leaving a lot of this hardware in the trees but then for what you and the kids will get from the experience, it will be worth it.

Pick the weekend in June when the state declares a ‘free’ fishing weekend and adults won’t need a fishing license. Children under 17 years of age of course are exempt from buying a license anyway. Enjoy your outing.

 

We suggest that everyone get a copy of Indiana’s hunting and fishing regulations from most any place that sells hunting/fishing license for more detailed rules and regulations. Please e-mail all questions reguarding Waynedale outdoors to: News@waynedalenews.com.