Hesitant at first, Lily is now ready to go fishing again.
Each spring, CatfishNOW (CFN) and CrappieNOW (CN) conducts a writers’ camp to bring writers, anglers, and sponsors of the fishing industry together. The purpose of the event is to try out, review, and demonstrate various products that are important to the angling public. The sponsors supply the products, the anglers supply the expertise, and the writers create content in the form of photos, videos, blogs, and written stories.
CFN/CN publisher, Dan Dannenmueller has long been a proponent of involving youth in the fishing experience. In planning the 2022 Writers Camp he included several kids.
“Recruiting youth into our sport of fishing is not only beneficial to the sport but also with the kid’s life experiences,” said Dannenmueller. “A positive experience fishing can mold a person’s perspective of the outdoors and point them in the right direction in life! They will never forget it.”
Elmore County Economic Development Authority (ECEDA) officials were able to identify several young children to join the anglers and writers on Friday afternoon. The kids ranged in age from 7 to 13 years old and included 5 girls and 2 boys.
Like all the other parents, Lily’s received an email from Lisa Van Wagner, Project Manager for ECEDA to see if their children would be interested in participating in the camp. Lisa explained everything the kids may be presented with during the day and how much fun it would be.
Lily’s response to her mom was, “I really don’t want to do this but if you think I’ll have fun I’ll try it.”
The camp location was Jackson Lake Island on the beautiful Alabama River. It provided the perfect venue for the camp. It is open to the public for fishing, picnicking, and camping. Anglers can fish from the bank or launch a boat at the boat ramp.
“Lily loves to be outside,” said her mom Lynda Garner. “She has been deer and turkey hunting several times with her dad. This turkey season was her first time killing a turkey. She was very proud of herself and wants to try to kill a deer this coming season.”
Lily also enjoys exploring the woods around her house, but until she came to the camp she had not been fishing. She would soon catch her first fish.
Those seven youths boarded seven boats with the captains, photographers, videographers, and writers to experience a little fishing. Marshall Hughey, Director of the Alabama Catfish Series, captained our boat and eleven-year-old Lily Garner joined us on his pontoon.
Each child at the camp received a new B’n’M panfish rod and reel, and a tackle box with fishing tackle to rig with. Knowing that bluegill fishing with worms the day before was unsuccessful, Marshall brought crickets for Lily to use. Marshall showed Lily how to rig her new pole with a split shot, float, and hook, and then demonstrated how to bait with crickets. It didn’t take long until she had a fish on the line.
“I love to turkey hunt but I really, really liked fishing,” Lily said following the event. “Just the idea of not knowing exactly when a fish might bite was so exciting. Catching my first fish was my favorite memory of fishing with Mr. Ron and Mr. Marshall and fishing with crickets was great. The crickets did the trick!”
“I really liked fishing on the pontoon boat,” continued Lily. “There was a lot of room on the boat. The only thing that I didn’t like was when my hook got stuck on part of the boat. I would love to go fishing again soon but maybe when it’s closer to winter so I don’t get too hot on the boat.”
An afternoon thunderstorm cut our session short so we didn’t get to use the bluegill that Lily caught for catfish bait as we had hoped. Marshall did however have a small flathead in the livewell that had been caught that morning. He used it to demonstrate to Lily how to safely hold a catfish.
“I thought the catfish was really cool to see in person,” offered Lily. “It was slimy and funny looking. I would love to go catfishing sometime.”
According to her mom, as soon as Lily got in the car afterward she said, “Please put the air conditioner up full blast.” Her response indicates how important comfort is as an important element of taking kids fishing, especially for the first time.
And then she added, “That was way more fun than I ever thought that it could be. When are we going to be able to use my new fishing rod?”
On the way home, Lily talked about catching her first fish and the fact that the fish were not interested in worms so Marshall switched to crickets. She also talked about the best way to hook the crickets and how the pole would bend a little when a fish was on the line.
“Lily laughed thinking about how it was a little difficult to reel the line in,” conveyed Lynda. “And when the fish came out of the water it was small, Lily said, ‘All that work for such a little fish!’”
Lily also told her mom that the experience made her excited to catch a bigger fish in the future so she could see how that would feel.
“Honestly, at first Lily wasn’t really excited,” concluded Lily’s mom. “She had never been fishing before so I think she had a lot of nerves about what to expect and about what would be expected of her. In Lisa’s email, it said that Lily may have to hold a fish and I think that’s all she heard when I was reading all the fun things that were planned for the kids. It makes us laugh now, thinking about her not wanting to do it at first since she had so much fun and definitely held some fish!”
Epilogue:
Jackson Island is the home to the “Town of Spectre” movie set from Tim Burton’s classic movie “Big Fish!” It is also home to a herd of friendly goats that roam the island and provide a delightful encounter for those that take the time.
The island is open to the public and provides a peaceful place to fish, picnic, or day camp. It also has overnight camping for those so inclined. There are many memories to be made in the photogenic backdrops available throughout the park.
Anglers and boaters can launch their boat at the boat ramp. Kayaks and canoes have numerous opportunities to launch into the peaceful and protected waters of the lake. Easy access to the Alabama River adds many more adventures to the list for visitors of Jackson Lake Island.
Admittance for the day is $5.00 each for persons over the age of 10. Children 10 years and under are $3. Children 2 years and under are free. Overnight camping is $15.00 per person per night and $5 for children 10 years old and under. Children 2 years and under are free.
