By MATT PIKE
St. Joseph Post
New and old fisherman alike will have a chance to get some experience fishing at a clinic this weekend held by the Missouri Department of Conservation.
Department spokesman Bill Graham says the Discover Nature fishing clinic on Saturday, will not only feature classes about fishing, but a chance to get out and fish at the Everyday Pond on the Missouri Western campus.
"With the class instructor and volunteers helping out and the Department of Conservation provides all the equipment you need, we have the rods, the reels, the bait, the lures, everything people need to go fishing," Graham tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post. "So, there's no cost it's free."
Graham says the clinic is for people of all ages and is a good opportunity to get that experience fishing.
Graham says he hasn't noticed a lack of interest in youth fishing, but says he has experienced teaching someone to fish who didn't grow up knowing how to fish.
"It is true that if you don't have the family heritage of fishing, it's a little difficult you have to have starting points, you know you can get line tangles, where you fish, hangs ups, those little tricks to getting around the problems that can make it a lot more fun to go fishing when you know those tricks," Graham explains.
Graham adds the Discover Nature fishing clinic on Saturday will teach you those tricks and more.
Graham says it's a delight for conservationists to see a young fisher have that spark lit when they catch their first fish at one of these clinics.
"But you gotta fan the flame too, and one beautiful thing about our Discover Nature Fishing program is that with the four different lessons and the four different types of fishing that come after the lessons, with the hands-on experience that they get, they get plenty of experience along with the how to," Graham says.
The clinic begins Saturday at 10 a.m. at the Conservation Office on the Missouri Western campus. You can find more information and register HERE.