Friday, June 06, 2008
Cost-free casting
Mark Taylor
Mark Taylor's Outdoors column and notebook appears regularly in The Roanoke Times.
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It's free pass time for fishing.
Virginia's annual Free Fishing Days weekend gets under way today, with anglers allowed to hit most freshwaters -- stocked trout waters, excepted -- through Sunday without having to buy a license.
The event, versions of which are held in nearly every state around this time of year, isn't just a way to give license-checking conservation police officers a break.
It's a marketing tool.
"We figure if someone has a good experience, you might sell them a license and make a recreational fisherman out of them," said Gary Martel, chief of the Fisheries Division at the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, which sells about 400,000 freshwater fishing licenses annually.
The traditional timing early in the summer isn't an accident, either.
People will be spending a lot of time on the water in the next few months. They might as well be fishing, right?
Martel said it's difficult to gauge how many people participate in Free Fishing Days because conservation officers aren't actively polling anglers or checking licenses.
He added that he knows that avid anglers aren't among the participants.
"It's not like you're going to lose license sales," Martel said. "If you're already a fisherman, you're not going to [just wait for] this weekend."
Where to go
A number of special events are planned for this weekend, with many of the events aimed at kids.
But kids under 16 already get to fish for free year-round. So why have special events this weekend?
"This way the mom can fish, the dad can fish," Martel said. "It can be a real family event."
Martel said that's especially important for novices, for whom fishing is a social activity.
Parents looking to take their kids on a fun family trip should keep a couple of things in mind.
"Go to a place where the kids don't have to be just fishing," he said. "One of the best ways to sour a kid on fishing is to put them in the roasting sun for six hours."
Those other lures can range from swimming beaches to playgrounds, facilities that often can be found at parks on larger lakes.
The species of fish is not important, Martel said.
"Take them to a public park with a pond full of stunted bluegills," he said.
Those little fish often can be found in droves around fishing piers on public waters, including Claytor and Smith Mountain lakes, and the reservoir at Carvins Cove.
Of course those eager biters are confidence builders not only for kids, but also for novice adult anglers.
Small streams with good populations of smallmouth bass or redbreast sunfish can also provide the kind of fast action that can hook a newcomer.
A long drive is rarely necessary.
"Most people can find a decent place to fish within a couple of miles of their home," Martel said.
A good resource is the DGIF's Internet site. The site's home page (www.dgif.virginia.gov) currently includes a big teaser for Free Fishing Days. Clicking the "learn more" link takes viewers to a page featuring a "Where to fish" listing of public fishing lakes, ponds and streams around the state.
Basic tactics
The massive amounts of tackle that lines shelves in big sporting good stores can intimidate novice anglers.
The best way for a beginner to navigate the choices is to connect with an experienced mentor who can help pick out the surprisingly simple gear with which to get started. Even without a guide, it's not hard or expensive to put together a functional fishing kit.
Push-button spincast rods and reels are the easiest for kids and novice adults to operate. Cute little outfits with cartoon or superhero character themes may be appealing, but are really only suited for the smallest kids. Slightly larger outfits work better and are more durable. Expect to spend about $20 to $30 to get a decent outfit.
For catching bluegills and sunfish, it's tough to beat a basic rig of a hook under a bobber, with a piece of nightcrawler or worm as bait. A small split shot about six inches above the hook will get the bait down, while a small bobber will keep the bait from sinking. Swivels and pre-snelled hooks aren't necessary.
Armed with that kind of outfit, anyone can catch a few fish.
Often, it takes just a few fish to keep an excited newcomer coming back for more.
