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Winter is not exactly the season to introduce fishing to youngsters. The weather is cold, the waters lack fish, it's understandable when they choose to stick with indoor activities. Four years ago, a group of anglers from the Fraser Valley Salmon Society decided to change that. They launched a weekend event known as "All about Fishing", a sportfishing show that specifically caters youngsters. Since its introduction, this event has been popular every year. This year's show took place during the last weekend of March, many avid steelheaders gave up a day of fishing at prime time to help out at the event. Around Friday afternoon, I arrived at the venu to set up a display for Fishing with Rod. I was pretty excited because judging from the number of displays at the venu, it was going to be a grand show. Groups that were present at the show include Fraser Valley Salmon Society, Chilliwack Vedder River Cleanup Coalition, Fraser River Sturgeon Society, Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC, Coast Guard, Steelhead Recovery Plan and Fishing with Rod. The show ran from 5:00pm to 9:00pm on Friday and 10:00am to 5:00pm on Saturday. It was a great success, as it was well attended throughout the entire event. A steady flow of kids kept everyone busy. At the fly tying tables, many were trying to tie their first ever fly that will hopefully catch them a fish. The fishing games also received great responses. Peter MacPherson was the genius who invented several new games that kept many youngsters occupied during their stays. Overall, the most popular display that attracted many was the Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC's fish tank, which housed various species of trout and native freshwater fishes in BC. Each year, volunteers of the Fraser Valley Salmon Society puts in a huge portion of their time and money to keep events such as this alive. Being able to see every kid walking out of the show with a huge smile was priceless. These events are needed to educate our youth the importance of responsible sportfishing and conservation. |
