Sharing knowledge and getting hooked on fishing!

Fishcare Melbourne and Mornington have had a few sessions these last few months where it’s not only us teaching students how to fish, but them teaching others!

This all started off April with Fishing clinics down at Anglesea with the Kids Adventure Outdoors program, where we ran 4 sessions for kids of all ages along the fishing platforms located on the Anglesea river. No fish were caught unfortunately but that didn’t hinder any enthusiasm for our portion of the event. After teaching the participants how to fish, the parents decided they also wanted to have a go at the action. Many of the kids took the initiative and taught their parents how to fish in a safe and sustainable way (Fishcare volunteers looked on, but never needed to step in as they were doing so well!).

Cowes Primary school was another great highlight as the students selected fishing as their elective subject. They started their first class off with our Fishcare facilitator Jacinta to talk to them about sustainable fishing practices. Most of the students had basic knowledge on some of the rules as most had been fishing before, but we were able to clarify why the rules exist and other rules they weren’t aware of. The next fortnight we ran a fishing clinic where most of the students brought their own rods with various lures and rigs set up. Some received a refresher course in rigging up their rod while others learnt how to cast for the first time. A couple of leatherjackets and some toadies made an appearance, and there were some fisherman on the Cowes jetty catching some squid which piqued the interest of the students. A couple of students learnt how to rig up their rod with squid jigs and attempted to try their luck. The most experienced students were recruited to teach their friends how to bait up their rods and were they want to cast for the best outcome. Overall it was a successful (and fun) day with the students learning not only from Fishcare, but from each other!