Angler Education: Take me to the water!

Angler Education workshops provide training for adult volunteers to offer fishing programs in their schools and communities. The program introduces children to basic fishing skills and connects them to Wisconsin's lakes and streams.

An Instructor-In-Training practices casting skills and resourcefulness with a fish target and pop-can rig along Milwaukee's lakefront.

Adults who attend the workshops receive free materials that they can use to teach their own angler education courses and help guide adventures in local water resources investigations. Fishing equipment and other supplies are available for loan to instructors.

Youth leaders, classroom teachers, fishing club members and civic leaders are encouraged to attend as a team or form one at the workshop. Start an after-school fishing club, offer it as a summer enrichment class, build a school event around a fishing clinic, or include one as part of a community festival! Materials are correlated to Wisconsin's academic standards for grades 4 through 8, making the program an easy fit in the classroom. Additional materials are available for younger and older learners. Read about how the Wisconsin fishing tradition is tied to the State Academic Standards in this January 2007 edition of Wisconsin Association of Middle Level Education (WAMLE) Journal [PDF 169KB].

Also of interest is Wisconsin Water Education Adventures, part of the Year of Water website, which contains a variety of fun and interesting activities for studying about water and water resources.

Hooked on Fishing, Not on Drugs

The national program, Hooked On Fishing, Not On Drugs (HOFNOD) complements Wisconsin's Junior Angler Program. While Junior Angler focuses on fishing skills and Wisconsin waters, HOFNOD focuses on life skills to help kids navigate tricky, sometimes murky waters. Training and materials for HOFNOD are available upon request. Ask when you register for the workshop.

Freebies and Fees

There are no fees for Angler Education materials or the HOFNOD instructor's guide. After the workshop, you will have access to DNR materials for your students. There are costs for additional HOFNOD materials. There are also fees for Project WET and Project WILD when those programs are offered in combination with Angler Education. Lunch or Dinner is free!

Workshop Commitment Fee

We do require a $15.00 commitment fee refundable upon arrival. Fees from no-shows will be used to support the Angler Education Program. Make checks payable to: Department of Natural Resources and put Angler Education on the memo line.

Registration

Register with the contact listed for each workshop. Please indicate which workshop you are registering for and if you have any food allergies or restrictions. Please provide your mailing address, e-mail address if you have one, and telephone number.

What happens after the workshops?

A lot depends on you. We hope that participants will work together to provide angler education programs in their communities. Team teaching allows instructors to draw on each other's skills and offer a balanced program.

When you are planning an event, the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation (RBFF) will promote all registered events through a national public relations campaign centered around National Fishing and Boating Week, the first full week of June. So register your event with them to get going!

Angler Education Workshop Schedule

You can always find the most up-to-date schedule of upcoming Angler Education Workshops on our Workshop Schedule page.

Contacts

If you have questions, or for more information on Wisconsin's Angler Education programs:

Theresa Stabo, Aquatic Resources Educator
(608) 266-2272
Aquatic Resources Education, FH/4
Department of Natural Resources
PO Box 7921
Madison WI 53707-7921