need ideas for school fishing club

[crankybait]

hey guys. well, in my school kids can make their own clubs. And i was thinking of starting a fishing club. See, the school is close to Shark river park, i know since we went there for orientation on the second day of school. i saw the pond, and that got me thinking. i found the web page, and saw there were only bluegill and sunnies in the pond, but the river that branches off holds trout.
http://monmouthcountyparks.com/parks/shark_park.asp
The only other fishable water (apart fromt he ocean, which is 10 minutes away) is the hamiltown fire co. pond, stocked with trout. there is also chanel cat and bass.
http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/arttrtout06.htm

and to get tackle, or just visit on a sort of feild trip,
http://www.macsbait.com/

The thing is, i need to make it interesting. And i have to plan most of it out myself. i need 5 student signatures (i know i can get hose people, i talked to a bunch) and a teacher advisor to sign (i know a teacher who is somewhat into fishing). Then I need a way to hold people's interest. see, most clubs meet during the lunch hour (around 11) for about 1/2 an hour. i can't actually go and fish in that time, so i was thinking luremaking, or inviting people. Just preaching fishing and how to fish would be incredibly boring. Then, afterschool trips. The problem is We'd need to arrange bussing home. For visitors, i was planning on hitting up Hoggie from Catch-N.com. Then seeing if any pro at all would be willing to come. Maybe Ike He is from NJ.

Also- gear may be a problem. I'm looking for a very cheap rod and reel combo for about 20 bucks... And depending on how many people come, i don't know if that is possible. Then comes lures. I'm hoping we can make most of them. But i need suggestions for what i should get. I'm banking on thinking around 10 people out of the 70 in the grade would come and stick with it. To keep interest, i thnik the first trip would be for bluegills, with crickets. Just get everything hyped up. I'd also like to plan one deepsea charter, and one trip with an expert guide or soemthing. Maybe i could get a deal on a deepsea charter...

But anyway, i need ideas to make this even possible. i have to convince the principal that it will work out. so if you have any ideas, I would really appreciate it. thanks.

[JB]

You can have club meetings on school time perhaps? Also discuss trends in fishing, get members to discuss dif ponds/lakes/rivers they have fished, it could open new doors to members that haven't fished these waters before..
You could hold tournies for all species of fish for your members, have total length of fish caught be the winner, or have a bass tourney and most weight wins.
Also you can have enviromental clean up days, like picking up trash on the road or next to the waters you fish the most..
You could get town venders to donate small prizes for a fishing derby.
Better check with school officials if there is any prize money to be given out.
Have a president, a vice prez that is tournament director, also have some one else keep the minutes of the meetings.
You could also have member join BASS and enjoy the benefits of that org. and its magazine.

[crankybait]

well, I cant have meetings on school time, only from 11-12. We aren't aloud to take up class time. And most of the people haven't fished much, just a few times to hang out with parents and stuff. I know one kid has fished the navesink river... he likes to fish, but doesn't know much. Besides him, Most kids have never fished, don't own gear, and if they have fisehd, they have no idea what the place is called. Thats why i got to make it look interesting. To most kids in the school, fishing is a redneck sport that you just sit there with a pole, some string, and a hook. wait for the bobber to go down and then just bring the fish in. Their attention is the most important thing. If a kid is bored in the first 5 minutes of something, they will just leave. that is why i need something entertaining, or just a dude like IKE, who kids would be able to listen to. I do know the shark river is quite littered. We could clean that up. And i don't know, but maybe that would be usable for our mandatory community service. The personal growth teacher could take us there one day. I don't think there is prize money. maybe a lure giveawayor something. But they really don;'t know much about fishing, so i have to present it in a way that will hold thier attention, let them learn, and have fun. Fun projects, stuff like that. And i was also thinking of a longterm project of building a decent sized rowboat. President would be the kid that knows the most about fishing (most likely me, sadly), and vice prez/tourney director would be the teacher advisor.

[Vabass22]

I can't think of how this would work. You would have to have transportation, to and from everywhere, permission, money, and you would have to catch fish, just about every time you went, or else people would be bored. For the charters, an "expert(private )charter", would be thousands of dollars, and it would be hard to get that kind of money. They usually won't take out alot of people, unless its for like a 2 or 3 day trip, and then they have like a 10 person limit.

[crankybait]

transportation- the school works out bussing, i just have to tell them in advance
catching fish- thats why i'm making sure they can fish before we go. its not like we'd jump straight into fishing. sunfish first, its impossible to get skunked with them. for charters, i meant party boat or a shore guide. A party boat could be about 30 bucks a kid. They hold up to 100 people. Permission is no problem, everything just has to be done in advance. They have a class trip to ireland for 1000 bucks, seriously.

[Vabass22]

We have that trip to europe too....
I thought you meant a private deep sea charter.

[crankybait]

nah, Just a party boat. I'd never be able to fund a private charter.

[adamgambill]

Maybe check with boys and girls club organizations and such. Also it might not be a bad idea to go for some 202 spincast combos to start out the green-peas . Picking lashes and pulling loops all day wont be much fun. Keep us all up to date on how it goes, Ill even send you two 202 combos if it works out-itll get you started and they are perfect for bluegill and rainbows. Im sure other members will do stuff too.

[flbassman]

Good ideas, but do you really want thirty kids fishing your pond? That could seriously destroy a small pond for at least 1-3 months.... I say you guys talk fishing, then hit the beach and surfcast for striper. Do some ice fishing. Have a knot workshop. Good luck...

[mack]

Originally Posted by flbassman

Good ideas, but do you really want thirty kids fishing your pond? That could seriously destroy a small pond for at least 1-3 months.... I say you guys talk fishing, then hit the beach and surfcast for striper. Do some ice fishing. Have a knot workshop. Good luck...

yea i agree with everything you said except for ice fishing. i dont know if hed want 30 begginners running around on ice slipping or falling through.

[crankybait]

yeah i decided against ice fishing for that reason.As to the pond- it wont be like 30 kids. more like 15. And i figured i would have me fishing alone and 7 people switching off rods. We'd go not too many times, let it rejuvinate.

Adam- thank you very much! my principal said e read my email, he is still going throught he details. Its pretty probable... the email was freakin 4 and a half pages long

[adamgambill]

Great, Glad to hear its working out. Send me a PM to let me know where to send them. Has to be an address UPS wont ship to a PO box. Ill see what else I can rustle up too.

[crankybait]

adam- Thanks, I Will send you a PM when Our principal returns my email. I Walked around the school, And among the freshmen I can say about 8-10 kids will join. Upperclassmen i can expect like 5. Not too bad. I Just sent a message to the NJDEP, To see if they had any ideas. Thanks