MINNEAPOLIS – An FLW Outdoors donation benefiting fisheries near Florida’s Lake Okeechobee will help little anglers living by the “Big O” get a leg up on catching fish.
The $5,000 donation will purchase equipment for a man-made pond being developed entirely for children’s fishing events, said Don Fox, biological administrator for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
The 3.5-acre Okeechobee Agricivic Center Pond – located near the north end of Lake Okeechobee – will host children’s fishing events throughout the year including future Casting Smiles – Fishing With Kids events hosted by Wal-Mart. It will be part of a complex devoted to educational activities for young people living in the area.
“Okeechobee County is building a big Agricivic Center up here,” Fox said. “(The fish and wildlife conservation commission) can stock the lake and manage it. We’ll turn this into a place that’s dedicated for kids’ fishing.”
The contribution from FLW Outdoors marks the tournament-fishing organization’s first donation of the 2004 fishing season made through the FishAmerica Foundation, the conservation arm of the American Sportfishing Association. The donation will purchase an aeration system, at least two fish feeders with support equipment and electronic scales for weighing fish, all to be used for children’s fishing events at the Agricivic Center Pond.
“It’s a cooperative effort,” Fox said of the project. Okeechobee County has also dedicated funds to run power lines to the pond, which can be accessed for use with the aeration system, Fox said. The overall project is being funded by various entities.
Fox said Okeechobee County commissioners have been heavily involved in developing the Okeechobee Agricivic Center Pond. Fishing is an activity that contributes greatly to the area’s economy, so providing opportunities for children to learn how to fish is one way of helping to ensure the future of the sport and its positive impact on the area.
“The whole (project) is part of what the FishAmerica Foundation does to promote fishing,” Fox said. “There’s so much competition for kids’ time today … whether its television, video games or other activities. We want to introduce kids to fishing with the hope that they will carry it on for a lifetime.”
Certain studies have shown that a smaller percentage of young people are turning to fishing for recreation than were several years ago, Fox said. He remembers a time when fishing and hunting were two of the primary forms of fun for children. Fox said it may just be a sign of the times that those numbers are not increasing with the population, but, in some cases, it may be the effect of an increasing number of single-parent families. The Okeechobee Acricivic Center Pond will provide a place where children can visit to learn fishing basics, and parents who don’t know much about the sport can learn, too, Fox said.
“It’s a place where they can go and have a good time and catch fish,” he said, emphasizing the importance of providing an environment in which children are likely to catch something, thereby increasing their interest in the sport.
Charlie Hoover, president and CEO of FLW Outdoors, said: “FLW Outdoors’ intention in partnering with FishAmerica is to have a positive impact on the fisheries and host cities where our tournaments are held. FLW Outdoors wants to leave the host lake of our tournaments in better condition than when we arrive for both the current and next generation of anglers. This effort on Lake Okeechobee introduces kids and first-time anglers to the sport by increasing their odds of catching a fish, hopefully their first of many.”
The Okeechobee Agricivic Center Pond could be operational by the end of February, Fox said.
In 2000, FLW Outdoors announced its partnership with the FishAmerica Foundation and has since directly donated more than $200,000 – and helped to generate more than $1 million – for local conservation projects. FLW Outdoors will donate $5,000 for each of the seven FLW Tour events in 2004 as well as for some of the other tournaments taking place among its six tournament circuits.
“Our goal at the FishAmerica Foundation is to set up ways for anglers to give back to the communities and waters that they fish,” said Johanna Laderman, managing director of the FishAmerica Foundation. “FLW Outdoors has been a committed sponsor to the conservation efforts on all lakes that host its tournaments. FLW Outdoors contributions really exemplify what we are about and show how anglers can give back and create great fishing on the lakes year-round.”