ESCANABA — Intending to increase youth involvement in the sport of fishing, Bay de Noc Great Lakes Sport Fisherman, Inc. has recently donated fishing kits to local libraries and harbor masters for youths to rent. This program originated at the Escanaba Public Library in March of 2019, the Fisherman’s Club responding to a grant request made by the library to purchase and circulate fishing poles to local youth. More recently, the club has expanded their program to include the Gladstone Public Library, the Gladstone City Harbor Master, and the Escanaba Marina Harbor Master as well.

“One of our main goals as a club is to support youth fishing and encourage youth fishing activities, so we started this fishing pole check-out process and project,” Rich Beauvais, board member of Bay de Noc Great Leaks Sport Fisherman, Inc., said. “Fishing is a nice activity for kids to get involved in. It helps to get them out of the house and doing something.”

Bay de Noc Great Lakes Sport Fishermen, Inc. is a local club that is dedicated to restoring, promoting, and building-up the fisheries in Little and Big Bay de Noc. The club, which has over 400 members, is actively organizing community events to help ensure that the sport of fishing, and the industry it brings to our local community, stays alive. Part of this process is introducing children to the sport.

“We have realized as a club that fishing, much like hunting and other outdoor recreation, is having trouble bringing out the youth,” Beauvais said. “It takes a certain amount of gear and tackle to do some of these activities, so providing that for the children will help them get involved early.”

Each pole is equipped with a basic bobber, sinker, and snaplock that allows kids to put a hook on the line. The poles also come with their own miniature tackle boxes, which contain a variety of jigs, soft baits, and extra hooks, bobbers, and sinkers for renters to test out. The Escanaba Library currently houses 10 fishing poles, while the other three locations hold eight. The reels for the poles come in a small variety as well.

“There are two types of reels made available. Open-faced reels, where you can actually see the line on the spool, and then closed-face reels, where the line is enclosed,” Beauvais said. “There is a bit of a different technique when using these different reels, so kids will be more comfortable with one or the other.”

Members of the Fishermen’s club planned the distribution locations of the poles in advance, hoping to provide local kids with a place to rent that has water accessibility nearby. While the harbor masters are located directly on the water, both the Gladstone and Escanaba libraries are within walking distance of Little Bay de Noc.

“The harbors, both in Gladstone and Escanaba, are great locations for fishing,” Beauvais said. “When I was a kid I fished at Escanaba Harbor all up and down the shores, off the boat slips, everywhere. So it is a great location for kids to fish.”

The Gladstone Public Library is looking forward to integrating the fishing pole program into their regular services. Once kids get a parent permission slip signed, they are eligible to rent the poles as if they were checking out a library book.

“It is a great service, especially being so close to the harbor and the lake,” Kari Fassbender, media assistant at the Gladstone Public Library, said. “There are so many kids in the area that like to go down there fish already, so this service will be great for them.”

The Fisherman’s Club has been providing services and events to the youth population long before their rental fishing pole program was established. In fact, the club hosts an annual “AYA” Tournament, which stands for Angler Young Angler. This event, which will be held on August 27 this year, pairs two youths with two fishermen in a day-long fishing tournament. Prizes are awarded to the groups with the best catches.

“To show those kids more about how to use the poles, use the equipment, and where to fish, I think that will go a long way towards driving this program,” Beauvais said. “Once these kids start catching, they tend to get hooked and get very excited about fishing.”

In addition to increasing youth engagement, the Fisherman’s Club also works with the Department of Natural Resources to help restore fish populations in the Bay de Nocs. The club raises walleye, trout, and whitefish from egg to small fingerlings annually. Once the fish reach the fingerling stage, they are released into the bays.

“We work with the DNR, the Indian community, and the local community to make all of that happen,” Beauvais said. “We even raise some of those fingerlings on to be maybe seven or eight inches before releasing them into the bay during the fall.”

Hoping to expand their fishing pole program, the Fisherman’s Club plans on providing a couple youth fishing clinics by the end of summer. While the club is already involved with Kids Fishing Day at the Pocket Park, an annual event in partnership with the DNR, these fishing clinics would show area youth the basics of the sport, including technique, lessons on hooks and jigs, and finding the best locations to fish.

“We encourage the kids to take advantage of this program and the youth clinics that are coming up,” Beauvais said. “With a pole, hook, reel, and worm, you can develop a lifelong hobby that is a lot of fun.”