A little fishing, a little learning

By Erin Nicholes, of The Montana Standard - 10/07/2007

Luke Jensen, 7, casts a line, at left, on a quiet bank at Grassy Point recently while his classmates try their luck across the water. photos by Erin Nicholes, of The Montana Standard

ANACONDA — Ignoring a biting wind, 6-year-old Sierra Metesh picked up a fishing pole and attempted to cast onto Georgetown Lake’s white-capped surface.

But her best effort to lay a line gracefully across the water instead left a wormed hook and an orange bobber tangled at her feet.

“I don’t know how to use this pole,” Sierra said, looking disdainfully at the spinning outfit. “Usually I just put a grasshopper on, wait until I get a tug and then reel it in.” It took a few tries, but she eventually grasped the push-hold-release rhythm and alongside her Philipsburg Elementary School classmates spent a recent afternoon trying her luck at Grassy Point.

About 35 Philipsburg students enrolled in an after-school program are receiving special fishing lessons from Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks employees from the Anaconda Fish Hatchery this month.

The program, titled “A Learning Expedition: Your Passport to Adventure,” is funded by a 21st Century Learning Centers grant and has monthly themes for health and wellness, new activities and art categories, said principal Sue Johnson.

October’s new activity is fishing, and includes two fishing trips to Georgetown and two in-class lessons on fish biology.

Although the hatchery often works with youths, taking a bus load of youngsters fishing at the lake is a new approach to educational outreach, hatchery manager Mark Sweeney said, as a swarm of kids made a bee line along the shore toward fishing poles and worms.

“I went out and bought 30 fishing poles,” Sweeney said, laughing. “It was probably the best money I’ve ever spent.” Sweeney and others taught kids the ropes of fishing, from baiting a hook and keeping an eye on the bobber to landing the catch and gutting the fish.

For most kids, the outing was not inaugural. Several brought their own fly rods and spinning outfits.

“I’ve been fishing since I was 3,” said Luke Jensen, 7, as he struggled to keep his hands warm while assembling his pole. “I want to get a fish, a rainbow trout. And I hope to catch a big one.” That wish came true for a few kids, including Kane Hess, 6, who quickly reeled in a trout the length of his arm.

“That’s nothing,” Hess said, trying to sound unimpressed as he hooked a finger through the whopper’s lip and found himself suddenly surrounded by girls. “I live down at Rock Creek, and I’m a really, really good fisherman. I caught a 25-pound Chinook (salmon) in Oregon.” He wasn’t the only young fisherman to have mastered the art of tall tales early on.

“In Seeley Lake I caught a fish as big as my leg,” said Thomas Paxton, 10.

Troy Houser, 10, chimed in with: “When we were here and we were ice fishing I caught a fish up to here,” he said, illustrating with his hand at shin-level to start with before raising it to his hip.

For those new to fishing, the victories were in the small accomplishments, like the success of untangling a gnarled line or the hopefulness of a worm that returns just a little shorter than when it departed.

“Hooray,” said Kyla Linn, 7, overjoyed at her successful cast.

However, the outing didn’t hook every kid on fishing — at least not on cold fall days.

When asked if he was having fun, 6-year-old Tony Russell responded with a flat “no.” “My bobber’s not going down, everybody else is catching fish, and I’m really cold,” he said, in a tone so melancholy it would have impressed Eeyore.

But spirits were high at the day’s end, when kids traded poles for willow branches and roasted marshmallows over a barbecue pit.

“I really liked it because I don’t get many chances for fishing,” said Tyler Gentry, 9, reflecting on the day. “We don’t have a lake or a pond at our house, and I like to fish.” Erin Nicholes may be reached at erin.nicholes@mtstandard.com.