It was off the hook! – Fishing Derby 7/16

MB_fishingFor this week’s troop meeting, we held a fishing derby and ‘it was off the hook!’ ™ What a GREAT IDEA!

We met at Herrick Lake Forrest Preserve west parking lot and carpooled. It was a short drive, only a couple of minutes at most and when we arrived our host, Mr. Dan Basore, was ready for us. He had hooks, bait, and poles ready for us. Mr. Peterson had met Mr. Basore, a local conservationist and avid fisherman, at an Earth Day event this year. Mr. Basore lives along Herrick Lake Road and has a small pond full of fish ranging from small blue gill all the way up to a few large bass on his property and he graciously invited Troop 35 to come visit and fish.

Mr. Basore shared with us his love of fishing and explained his method of catching fish. He uses a small float, not a bobber, and a hook with the weight attached and for bait, wax worms. His presentation was short – perfect for a group of eager young anglers, and a few old goats. It was a perfect evening for fishing – it was warm and the air still with just enough light to see well. It wasn’t long before one of the young anglers caught a fish. Before long, we had hooked over sixty fish and thrown them back, of course. I am sure a few fish were hooked multiple times but the scouts had a wonderful time and learned a valuable lesson about how to fish. You can see from the photos below, it was a ‘whale of a time,’ even though we didn’t catch one!

Don’t forget, there are two meetings remaining in July and even though the days are moving quickly, there is always time work an advancement requirement, polish off an unfinished merit badge or just to go fishing and practice what Mr. Basore taught us.

 

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