By Gene Gilliland
President, North Oklahoma City Bassmasters
The average Bass Club Digest reader spends 98 days per year
on the water. That’s nearly two days a week fishing. That is
what folks in the tackle industry call “avid” anglers. You buy
their products. You are the kind of angler that state agencies
rely on. Year in and year out, you buy a fishing license. You
live and breathe bass fishing. It is part of your being.
I want to borrow something from you. I want one of those days.
One day for kids.
I’m not talking about you fishing in a tournament to raise
money for children’s charities or assisting with a Casting Kids
contest. While those are fine ways to support youth fishing, I’m
talking about actually taking kids to the lake, river or
reservoir and getting them out in your boat. Letting them
experience the roar of the outboard. Feel the wind in their
face. And most of all, letting them experience the excitement,
that indescribable feeling, of something alive pulling back on
the end of their line.
Speaking from Personal Experience
The idea of bass club members volunteering their time and boats
for youth fishing events is a subject I feel strongly about for
three reasons.
First, I have seen what it can do for the kids and for the
volunteers. For nine years my club, the North Oklahoma City
Bassmasters (www.nokcbassmasters.com) has supported the Camp
Cavett Kids Fishing Day at Lake Texoma. We recruit volunteer
boat captains and take 150 kids from Oklahoma Children’s
Hospital fishing on the last day of their camp.
These are kids from ages eight to 18 that are in and out of
hospitals while they undergo treatments for cancer, heart
disease, liver disease, sickle-cell anemia and many other
illnesses. They spend so much time in hospitals that they don’t
always get to experience some of the fun things that healthy
kids often take for granted.
At our fishing day they compete in a derby. We award prizes
for the largest bass, bluegill, striped bass, catfish, rough
fish, etc. If it bites, it counts! The kids all get to bring
something in. The weigh-in trailer has a 400-gallon glass-sided
tank where the fish are held until they are released alive. This
lets the kids see all the different kinds of fish that were
caught. At noon we cap the event with a hamburger cookout for
the campers and the volunteers.
This event has come to be a special part of many of our
volunteers’ lives. Some participate because their families have
been touched by similar illness. Others volunteer because they
have been blessed with healthy kids and feel an obligation to do
something for the less fortunate. Still, others get a deep sense
of satisfaction knowing that they have provided a few hours of
escape to kids that have spent an awful lot of time in a
hospital.
Admittedly, recruiting volunteers is sometimes a chore. Boaters
envision children in wheel chairs or having serious physical
handicaps. But the truth is, most of these kids are just like
any other—they just want to have fun. They want to catch fish
and go fast in the bass boats!
Our job is to make the day as enjoyable as we can for
them—because we know that some of them may not be back next
year. We were reminded of that fact a year ago when a lady
stopped at our club booth at the Oklahoma City Tackle Show and
introduced herself. She was the mother of one of the Camp Cavett
kids we had taken fishing the previous year. She wanted to thank
us for taking time out of our lives to help kids like her son.
Kids we didn’t even know before that day on the lake. She said
that her son talked about that fishing trip for a month after
the event—right up to the day he died from brain cancer.
It is those tragedies that make the time we spend with the
kids each year all the more important and special. For them and
for yourself—one day.
Credibility Builders
The second reason for bass clubbers to get involved with kids
fishing events is that it is important for clubs to “give back”
to their community in a very visible way. This reinforces to
non-tournament anglers and the general public that bass
tournament anglers are not just about fishing for money and that
we do have a social conscience. While I applaud organizations
that raise money for charities through adult benefit
tournaments, taking kids fishing will make a longer-lasting,
more meaningful impression on the children, the volunteers and
the community as a whole.
There are hundreds of organizations that bass clubs can get
hooked up with to find kids that want to go fishing. Churches,
hospitals, orphanages, Boy’s and Girl’s Clubs, Big Brothers/Big
Sisters to name a few.
One such group is a unit of the Tulsa Fire Department. They
sponsor an annual summer camp for kids that are burn victims. On
the last day of Burn Camp they ask volunteers to bring boats and
take the kids fishing for a half day on northeast Oklahoma’s
Lake Hudson.
In many cases these kids have been through indescribable pain
and suffering. Many have undergone countless surgeries and skin
grafts, yet get them in that boat and they are just kids. They
want to catch fish. It does not matter what kind or how big—as
long as it pulls their string.
The Internet has dozens of examples of club-sponsored, kids,
fishing events that you can look at to get ideas. Some may even
be in your area where you can volunteer right away. “Catch a
Special Thrill” at
www.castforkids.org is a great place to look for
information and advice.
Among the many bass clubs who support youth fishing events are
New Jersey’s Bergen Bassmasters (www.bergenbassmasters.com).
This bass club has sponsored a fishing day for physically
disabled kids for over 16 years. The Northeast Texas Anglers in
Paris, Texas started a small kids’ fishing day that has grown
into an annual event for over 100 local youths (www.neta.com).
The Marietta (Georgia) Bassmasters have partnered with the Brain
Tumor Foundation to host a kids fishing event each year (www.mariettabassmasters.com).
A unique kids fishing event was started by a Juvenile Court
Judge in Boise, Idaho. Judge John Vehlow and the Idaho B.A.S.S.
Federation organized a fishing tournament where volunteers are
paired with kids that are on juvenile court probation. Here is
an event where bass tournament anglers have an opportunity to
teach these kids life lessons about ethics and sportsmanship,
stewardship and conservation, and do it in a non-threatening and
fun atmosphere. The kids learn from positive role models and get
to catch fish in the process—can it get any better?
Judge Vehlow is quoted as getting inspiration for the “Scales
of Justice” Bass Tournament from a youthful offender named Tommy
L. whom he took fishing after the youngster had finished his
probation. Tommy told the Judge at the end of their day of bass
catching, “Judge Vehlow, I want you to know this has been the
greatest day of my life!”
That’s the kind of impact you can have on a child’s life—in
just one day.
Back to the Future
The third reason to get involved in youth fishing events is to
pass on the legacy of bass fishing to younger generations. This
does two things. It allows young anglers to learn the ins and
outs of bass fishing from experienced mentors; and it helps
instill in them a respect and appreciation for the fishery
resources on which this sport depends. They are the future of
fishing.
It’s good for tournament anglers to get back in touch with
their families. Far too many rank-and-file tournament
competitors have forsaken fishing with the kids for fishing (or
pre-fishing) for a tournament every weekend with their adult
fishing buddies. We have a whole generation of young people that
are growing up without experiencing fishing in their lives.
Give a day to a youth fishing event and you may rekindle an
enthusiasm you had long ago allowed to burn out. Awaken an
enthusiasm for teaching, for passing on the fine points of this
sport to a young person, for having fun without the pressures of
tournament competition.
Three hundred sixty-five days in a year. All I’m asking for
is one. One day for a meaningful and satisfying experience. One
day to make a difference in your life. One day to make a
difference in a child’s life.
Kick it up a notch.
Two years ago, ESPN/BASS lit a fire under youth bass fishing
with the start of the Junior Bassmasters World Championship.
Youth members from Junior Bassmaster chapters around the country
now had a brass ring to grab for. Here was an event for kids
from 11 to 18 years old where they could compete against their
peers for scholarship money and even a Triton/Mercury bass rig.
But how do these kids get the experience they need to compete
at that level? How do we grow the sport for these kids? At
recent B.A.S.S. Federation Youth Director meetings, a concern
was expressed by many of the State Youth Directors about not
being able to get adult club members to volunteer as boaters for
the kid’s tournaments.
I know the frustration these leaders face. My adult club has
over 50 members and as youth-oriented as we are, sometimes it’s
tough to get the volunteer boaters we need for our Junior club’s
tournaments. It is all about scheduling, coordinating and most
of all—making youth activities a priority. One solution to this
problem is to follow the lead of the Federation award-winning
High Desert Bass Club, in Arizona, who formed an adult club for
the sole purpose of sponsoring a Junior Bassmaster chapter.
Many State Federations already or soon will have, associate
member programs, set up for adults that are not Federation club
members but want to volunteer their time to assist with the
Junior Bassmaster program. Go to www.bassmaster.com to find
contact information and web addresses in your state.
OK. Remember at the start of this article I said I wanted one
day? Well I lied…I want another…and another…and another. I want
as many days as it takes to get kids boating and fishing. Sick
kids, healthy kids, able-bodied kids, special-need kids, kids
that have not fished at all to kids who are future tournament
champions. I want to give them all a chance to experience the
fun of fishing—and it starts by your volunteering—just one day.
