Font Resize
I had enjoyed walleye in a sandwich, but I'd never seen one alive. In fact, I had never been fishing, which made me feel like a poor excuse for a Minnesotan — where one in every four adults buys a fishing license, the highest rate in the nation (tied with Alaska).
Meanwhile, my 7-year-old son had been eyeing his friends' tackle boxes with envy and begging to go fishing.
But where could we get equipment? Where would we go? Would I need a license? How do you bait a hook? The unknowns were daunting. Most daunting of all was the question of what I would do if he actually caught a fish?
So, I was relieved when I heard about the MinnAqua family fishing club, a free program for beginners like me run jointly by the Department of Natural Resources and Dakota County Parks.
On a recent Tuesday evening, I took my son and his friend to Thompson Lake in West St. Paul to meet instructor Andre Xiong. When we arrived, a couple of other kids already were leaning over the weathered wood rail on the pier and staring intently down their lines into the water.
"Have you ever been fishing before?" Xiong asked.
My son shook his head.
"Well, I'm going to help you put on a worm," he said.
Xiong popped open a plastic carryout container and used needle-nose pliers to pull out a fat night crawler. Then, he flipped the worm onto the dock and squeezed off a section.
"Do you want to try?" he asked my son, holding out the wiggling flap
My son gingerly took the worm in his hand. Then, he flinched.
"Whoa! Whoa! It squirted out some black stuff," said my son as he frantically handed the worm back and wiped his hands on his shorts. "Ew! Can you do it?"
Xiong took it back with good humor and slid it onto the hook.
"The worm is like a sock and your hook is like a foot," he explained as he worked the worm up the barb. "You just want to slip it on."
Xiong showed my son how to cast and then left him alone while he baited a few more hooks.
LURING YOUNG FAMILIES
The DNR created MinnAqua program in 1989 after becoming concerned that young people were not taking up fishing like the previous generation. While 28 percent of Minnesota adults older than 16 have a fishing license, and that's down from around 40 percent in the 1970s, and the greatest decline is among those younger than 35, according to C.B. Bylander, outreach chief for fish and wildlife division of the DNR.
The reasons are complex: growing urbanization, an aging population, growing numbers of ethnic minorities who have not traditionally fished and competition from organized leisure activities and video games.
"Fishing is still
The DNR is doing what it can to lure young families back to fishing. As of July 1, you no longer need a fishing license to fish in any state park. Officials did not think the $17 was a major deterrent for most families, but they wanted to eliminate the inconvenience, especially for people who might want to go fishing for the first time.
The DNR also has started to lend free fishing equipment at a handful of regional and state parks, including, for the first time this year, Fort Snelling State Park and William O'Brien State Park.
But even a free pole isn't much help if you don't know how to use it.
MinnAqua tries to tackle that barrier with a fishing curriculum for classroom teachers, park and rec staff and other youth leaders. The lesson plans incorporate games like "food chain tag" and culminate in a fishing field trip.
All of which raises a good question. Why should the state care if people fish?
"It's tied to something bigger than just fishing. It's tied to an overall conservation ethic," said Roland Sigurdson, an aquatic education specialist for the DNR. "If you enjoy angling, then you'll be interested in water quality, a healthy ecosystem and the things that support that recreational activity."
WAITING FOR A BITE
Sigurdson's reasoning makes sense. As we stood on the pier waiting for a fish to bite, we noticed a lot about the natural world around us.
A red-winged blackbird trilled from its perch in nearby cattails. A female mallard paddled past, leaving a perfect "V" wake behind her in the still water. Painted turtles swam out from under the pier to try to snap up our worms.
One boy caught a turtle, and we had to hold its head out from its shell to remove the hook. But no one was catching a fish.
There was one other family at the club that night, along with a few kids Xiong had invited off the playground. One boy pulled up a bunch of weeds. A girl watched a fish pluck the worm off her hook. Another boy caught his finger on a hook.
Meanwhile, my son and his friend stood on a lower board of the pier railing and leaned over the water. I was impressed with their patience.
I was looking the other way when I finally heard my son yell, "I got a fish!"
I turned around to see his red and white bobber under the water. Xiong helped him reel in a 4-inch bluegill, one of the most common fish in Minnesota lakes.
I tried to work the hook loose but was nervous I would hurt the fish. Xiong helped pull the hook out and then handed the fish to my son to gently drop back into the water. All the MinnAqua programs are catch and release.
My son was lucky that night. He caught two more sunfish, a green sunfish and a pumpkinseed.
"I threw it out and thought it was a bad cast," he said, he said of his last catch. "So, I reeled it back in, and there was a fish on it! It was awesome!"
And that night at the dinner table, he told his father his first fishing story.
Maja Beckstrom can be reached at 651-228-5295.
Hook, line and sinker
Here are additional opportunities to learn to fish. Equipment and bait provided.
MOTHER AND CHILD FISHING
When: 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday
Where: Holland Lake, Lebanon Hills Regional Park, 1100 Cliff Road, Eagan
Target audience: Ages 5 and older
Cost: $12 adult, $7 youth; registration required
Information: 651-554-6530 or www.co.dakota.mn.us
FATHER AND CHILD FISHING
When: 5 to 8 p.m. Aug. 19
Where: Thompson County Park, 1200 Stassen Lane, West St. Paul
Target audience: Ages 5 and older
Cost: $12 adult, $7 youth; registration required
Information: 651-554-6530 or www.co.dakota.mn.us
FISHING FUN DAY CAMP FOR KIDS
When: 8:30 a.m. to noon July 29
Where: Carpenter St. Croix Valley Nature Center, 12805 St. Croix Trail, Hastings
Target audience: Ages 4 to 11
Cost: $25 per child; equipment provided for children who do not have it; registration required
Information: 651-437-4359 or CarpenterNatureCenter.org
MISSISSIPPI RIVER FISHING INTRODUCTION
Learn what fish need to survive and how to identify them. After practicing casting, fish from the shore of the Mississippi River.
When: Noon to 2 p.m. July 25
Where: Fort Snelling State Park, 101 Snelling Lake Road, St. Paul
Cost: Free
Information: 612-725-2724 or www.mnstateparks.info
INTRODUCTION TO FISHING
Learn about fish you can catch, tie on a lure, practice casting and check out a pole to try out your new skills.
When: 11 a.m. July 25
Where: St. Croix State Park
Target audience: Adults must accompany children, and all ages are encouraged to participate.
Cost: Free
Information: 320-384-6591 or e-mail megan.johnsen@dnr.state.mn.us
Free fishing poles
Several regional and state parks in the metro area lend free fishing poles through the DNR's Fishing in the Neighborhood program. Check ahead to see if specific locations sell or provide bait.
East-metro sites include William O'Brien State Park, Fort Snelling State Park, Lake Elmo Park Reserve, St. Croix Bluffs Regional Park, Lebanon Hills Regional Park, Inver Grove Heights Community Center. For a complete list and more details, go to www.dnr.state.mn.us/fishing/fin/index.html.
Remember: If you are older than 16, you will need to purchase a fishing license, unless you are fishing at a state park.
The Department of Natural Resources Web site (www.dnr.state.mn.us/fishing) has everything you need to get started, including instructions for beginning anglers, lists of where to purchase bait, how to buy a license, a map of lakes in Minnesota with a fishing pier, local lake descriptions, color pictures of Minnesota fish species and guidelines from the Minnesota Department of Health for eating fish from potentially polluted waters.
Family Outings: The Scoop
What: MinnAqua Fishing Club
Where: Lebanon Hills Regional Park, 860 Cliff Road, Eagan, and Thompson Park, 360 Butler Ave. E., West St. Paul
Information: 651-554-6530 or www.co.dakota.mn.us
Hours: 6 to 8 p.m. Mondays (Lebanon) and Tuesdays (Thompson) through August
Cost: Free (and you don't need a fishing license to fish with the club)
Target audience: Kids and their parents who are new to fishing or who don't own equipment.
Crowd pleaser: Feeling the tug on the line.
Avoid: Catching turtles. It's hard to get the hook out when they pull their head in.
Tip: Resist the urge to keep pulling up your line. No one catches a fish with his or her bait out of the water.
