The Volunteer Spirit

When it comes to fishing, I consider myself a very lucky person, having the opportunities I do. But, and I know this may be hard to believe, I haven't always been the fishing legend(HA!) I am now. It all had to start somewhere. When I was a kid, it was fishing with my Dad and older brothers. In this day and age, with life keeping folks so busy, there may not be opportunity to get out and fish, or even, heaven forbid, a lack of interest. That's why passing the knowledge and passion of the fishing experience is so important.

For the past couple of years, I've volunteered in the Natural Resources Area at the Great Geauga County Fair. What an experience. They have a youth fishing area where the Ohio Division of Wildlife introduces kids to the joys of fishing. They stock the area with a variety of fish and provide cane poles, tackle and bait. Us volunteers, we help the kids and their parents, if needed, providing worms, helping get snags free, and taking fish off the hook. It's pretty much organized chaos and after working all day in the hot sun, it does tire you out, but when a kid catches his first fish, and you see the excitement, it makes it all worth it.

There were two kids that stood out this year. One young girl who caught a little sunfish. When she brought it in, I could tell she was excited about the fish. She was saying "I don't want to touch it, keep it away!" But I saw she was curious. I took the fish off the hook and held it for her to look at. I showed her all the different colors of the fish, the different fins and how it swims. She even touched the fish, then held it and threw it back in, all by herself. Later, I saw her do the same thing with another she had caught.

The second was a young man, about 3 or 4 years old. He was fishing with his Mom and Dad, and Dad was helping him out. His bobber slammed under and he pulled up a tiny, baby largemouth bass about 3 inches long. By the kid's reaction, you would have thought he caught a whale! He was laughing and doing a fishing dance on the shore. He just couldn't control his excitement. He was high-fiving everyone in sight and gave BIG hugs to his Mom and Dad. All coming from dropping a worm hooked on a cane pole into the water. It's that joy, that excitement, that feeling you get. It's what I feel when hook into a fish to this day.

I hope you like the videos. Look for more "On the Water" segments next week. Any questions or comments, send me an email at cbachtel@wkyc.com and I'll get back with you.

I'm Carl "Big Daddy" Bachtel and I'll see you out there.