Horne Lake Regional Park will be hosting this year’s Learn to Fish event, teaching children about fish identification and biology, habitat conservation, how to snag a fish and more.
Guiding manager for Horne Lake Caves Provincial Park Laura Issacs was thrilled when she heard the event would bring 5 to 15 year olds to the lake to learn about the sport and have some fun.
“It does teach them patience and also gives them a great deal of respect for the outdoors,” she said. “And above and beyond that it’s about learning about the food chain and where food actually does come from, and a little bit of respect for what we eat.”
Issacs said she took to fishing a few years ago when she was the winter caretaker at the Horne Lake Campground. When she was pregnant last year Isaacs said she would wade her swollen ankles out into the rivers for a soothing respite.
When her daughter was a month old, Issacs and her partner took her fishing for the first time, the baby relaxing on her belly in a Ergo Carrier. She said she looks forward to next year when her daughter can hold the rod herself.
This year she’ll enjoy watching other kids take part in the sport at Horne Lake, she said.
“I’m looking forward to seeing some kids catch their fist fish, that will be the most exciting part,” she said.
Instructing the children will be Tanya Laird from the GoFish Program, a partnership between the Freshwater Fisheries society and the province. The event happens this Sunday, March 20 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The cost is $10 per child, parents go free. For more information on the event visit www.brantfestival.bc.ca, to book the event contact Robin Rivers at 1-866-288-7878 ext. 226.