The NPAA Kids Fishing Clinic At Cleveland Mid-America Boat Show
Category: npaa
Feb 14th, 2012 by OutdoorsFIRST
Modified Feb 14th, 2012 at 12:00 AM
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The Mid-American Boat Show in Cleveland, OH two weekends ago featured a new event this year sponsored by the National Professional Anglers Association along with some other industry sponsors including the Western Basin Sportfishing Association and Mercury Marine.
The NPAA Kids Fishing Clinic was attended by almost 80 kids along with their parents and bystanders. This event was organized by NPAA Members Matt Davis and Dan Gies with support from NPAA Members Duncan Wooster and Lance Valentine. “We ended up giving out 70 rod and reel combos along with goodie bags to all the kids. Having the NPAA donate 50 of the rods was great.”, said Matt Davis one of the organizers.
The Clinic started with a Power Point presentation by Travis Hartman on the fish of Lake Erie. Travis is an ODNR biologist that studies Lake Erie for hatch numbers and a lot more. Travis’s presentation included discussions on proper steps anglers should take to prevent the spread of Aquatic Invasive Species. During the presentation volunteers gave away prizes to the kids who answered questions about fish and AIS precautions correctly, including the Clean, Drain, Dry procedures all boaters should use.
After the presentations the volunteers gave out the rod/reel combo’s and a slip bobber kit. With rods/reels in hand the kids were split into groups to get help with how attach the bobbers on and get ready to fish. As the kids left the Clinic they received goodie bags full of donated items. In total the Clinic lasted about 45 min.
The event was advertised on the boat show web site, Walleye Central, Ohio Game Fishing web site, WBSA web site, Ohio Outdoor News, and the Cleveland Plain Dealer. All the parents and the kids were very excited about this new event. Matt Davis went on to say, “Events like this will help get kids and families interested in fishing and the outdoors in the future. We were glad to be the organizers of this event and look forward to doing more of these in the future.”
The NPAA is a non-profit organization focused on growing the sport of fishing and increasing the professionalism of its members. Supporting partners include: Navionics, Mercury Marine, Evinrude Outboards, Yamaha, Lund Boats, Ranger Boats, The Next Bite, Oahe Wings and Walleyes Guide Service, Outdoor First Media, Pure Fishing, Fish On Kids Books, Advanced Tex Screen Printing, Worldwide Marine Insurance, FLW Outdoors, AIM, North American Media Group, Frabill, John Butts Outdoors, J.J. Keller Fishing Team, The Reel Shot, U.S. Forest Service, Great Lakes Sea Grant, FPS Financial Planning Services, Off-Shore Tackle, Warrior Boats, Fin-Tech Tackle, Kingfisher Boats, Liddle Marketing, Mutual of Omaha, Northland Fishing Tackle, Optima Batteries, Simms Fishing Products, Pasha Lake Cabins, National Fleet Graphics, Arrowhead Promotion, G2 Gemini and High Tech Fishing. More NPAA member and association news can be viewed at www.npaa.net.
Call Pat Neu, executive director, 920-856-6151 with questions.