That means not only picking up after yourself, but take a moment to pick up a few pieces of trash that you find this week. Accidents happen, and anglers lose tackle, so it's important to offset our impact on the places we fish by leaving those places better than we found them.
2. NO SWIMMING
Wading up to the knees is okay. Ideally, we don't want to scare the fish, so it's better to be stealthy.
3. NO THROWING STICKS/ROCKS/ETC -
We don't want anyone to get hurt, break any rods, and again, we don't want to scare the fish.
4. BE AWARE OF YOUR SURROUNDINGS -
Don't disturb other anglers. Look before you cast so you don't hook a tree limb or each other. Take in natural observations, what forage the fish might feed on and where fish might hide. Weather patterns, position of the sun and shadows being cast into the water. Enjoying the outdoors and learning about the local flora and fauna we're going to be discovering. Don't harass wildlife. Be aware of plants like blackberries, poison oak, or nettles that could ruin our day, or end the week early.
5. KNOW YOUR FISH -
- Discuss different species in the area
- Catch and release laws vs. ethics
5. Overview of agenda for today:
- Nature walk
- Observe plants, birds, habitat, (hopefully) fish
- Turn over rocks/observe food sources for fish
- talk about what kind of bait you could find in nature
- how would you imitate that forage with artificial lures?
7. Tackle, Knots, & Rigging -
- Rods, Reels, and how they work, inside and out
- Overview of Line, Weights, Swivels, Hooks
- Fisherman's Knot
- Rigging demonstration(s)
8. Fish anatomy and processing
- Dispatch your catch (bleeding out to increase quality of meat and preservation)
- Outer anatomy (fins, scales, etc.)
- Inner anatomy (bone structure, organs, meat)
- Filleting
- Scaling
- Gutting
- Proper disposal
9. Casting
- Lecture and demonstration
