Middle school students find fun in fishing
Fifth graders from Charles City look for a bite as they cast their rods and reel during a fishing field trip on Wednesday. Photo by Kelly Terpstra
Shaun Martin gives some pointers to his son, Chris, on Wednesday at a pond in Charles City. Martin and his fifth-grade class were all allowed to fish for part of the day on an organized field trip. Photo by Kelly Terpstra
By Kelly Terpstra, kterpstra@charlescitypress.com
There are many life lessons learned by spending quality time fishing near your favorite pond during the summer.
Patience would be one of them.
Getting a tasty bite to eat isn’t too bad of a result, either.
Fifth-graders in Charles City got a chance to cast their lines on Thursday, albeit it was catch and release.
Charles City Middle School teachers, along with members of the Izaak Walton League and Floyd County Conservation, converged on the “R” Campground’s private pond, owned by Randy Vandeventer.
The fishing trip has been an annual occurrence for some time and the fun-filled afternoon helps teach kids the basics of angling.
It was a gorgeous day outside for the prospective anglers to reel in bass, bluegill or bullheads. Some of the fifth-graders had to learn the ropes concerning safety and the actual sport of fishing itself.
Ben Klapperich, a fifth-grade science teacher, said students took a poll and the results showed that 40 percent had never fished before.
Students practiced all week leading up to the big day.
“We talk about safety and fishing with all kinds of people around,” said fifth-grade teacher Elizabeth Platte. “Then we come out here and they get to do all of those things with live fishing.”
Whether it was how to cast a line with a bobber, or attach weights or hooks, everyone learned a little something on this day.
“Sometimes we have some squeamish students of putting on the worm or taking the fish off,” said Platte. “Eventually by the end the day they’re all avid fishermen.”
Platte said the fish bite pretty well in this area, but there’s always that time when a fish swallows a hook and a pliers is needed to retrieve it.
“It’s an exciting time for them and teaches them to be aware of their surroundings,” said Platte. “This is definitely a lifelong hobby that students get into.”
The bait used for catching the “big one?”
Worms.
“I know generally the teachers have them at least put their own worm on and try to get them to touch a fish or take a fish off sometime during the day,” said Floyd County Conservation Naturalist Heidi Reams.
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