These kids love playing hooky

Fishing is an activity that is way more than just catch and cook. It requires patience and promotes an appreciation of the environment. This is what the Rhode Island Saltwater Anglers Association (RISSA), in partnership with the R.I Department of Environmental Management (DEM) and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Services look to encourage 50 youths to understand.

Tuesday was the opening day for the second Rocky Point Youth Fishing camp. Registration was held now filled in Olympic sized pool of the former amusement park. With the waters of Narragansett Bay yards away and the smell of salt in the air, the campers sat down around tables to learn about the day’s agenda. The camp was divided into four groups based and age and level of experience.

Activities and topics discussed in the orientation included boat safety, fishing basics, fish and local critter identification, shore casting and, of course, applying the bait.

Pawtucket resident and member of the purple group, Trinity MacPherson only liked the “fishing” part of it. She had no desire to touch the bait. “Worms are gross,” she said.

Henry Wind, of Warwick, would not be deterred by the idea of getting his hands a little dirty. “Worms are cool,” he said. Henry also talked about his past experience fishing, catching stripers and a smallmouth bass.

“We almost kept it but we decided to let it go,” he said.

When asked what he hoped these kids were going to gain from this camp, RISSA second vice president and leader of the project, Dave Monti said, “ Fishing is a life long hobby. Not just catching fish, but building relationships with family and friends, because you’re spending a lot of time when you are fishing. So our hope is to teach these kids the proper way to fish, so they can have it as a hobby and build those relationships. Not just fish but fish responsibly, from an environmental perspective and a conservation perspective.” Monti promoted the camp through the RISSA website. With 7,500 recreational anglers associated with the group, it was not difficult for word to get out as Monti wrote about it in both the Providence Journal and Warwick Beacon’s fishing columns.

Principal biologist of the DEM Kim Sullivan shared her excitement about the program.

“This is the first time the DEM Aquatic Resource Education [A.R.E] Program is helping fund this project, and it’s working towards our mission to enhance the public’s understanding of their natural resources.”

The A.R.E is not just for children’s education, but also adults. Regarding its affiliation with the camp, “It’s always a good to take it as a refresher for yourself,” Kim said. “Some of our fishermen are the best stewards for the environment. So our hope is that they’ll [the campers] love fishing so much they’ll want to protect the environment for many generations to come.”

Funding this project was the RISSA with a grant of $13,000 from the DEM, which The United State Fishing & Wildlife Service did a 3 to 1 match. “75 percent of the funding came from that,” said Monti. The remaining 25 percent of the funding came from the money from sold saltwater fishing licenses.

Director of the DEM Janet Coit said, “This is a combined city & state effort, and we are constantly partnering up with outside organizations.” She and a few select campers took part in the ceremonial first cast, symbolizing the opening of the camp. She hopes that this program will help reintroduce people to the thought of “maintaining the park for future generations”. “Right now this is a useful interim period for a master plan in the future.”

The camp runs daily from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., through today. Wednesday, with 40 volunteers from RISSA, the campers boarded a bus to Galilee to enjoy Seven B’s fishing on the water. Today campers enjoy bay fishing with 18 of the RISSA member boats, followed by a lunch at Rocky Point, and the day concludes with a camp graduation. RISSA hopes that with the success of this year’s camp, they can open a second location at Colt State Park in Bristol next year.