Take Me Fishing will make its eighth appearance at Lake of the Woods this Saturday from 9 to 11 a.m. at the Boathouse Peninsula.
The Champaign County Forest Preserve puts on three Take Me Fishing Events throughout parks within Champaign County each year to promote the park system and to encourage children to be active.
Children age 17 and under can compete in a fishing derby. Three medals are awarded at the end of the derby to the child who caught the most fish, the biggest fish and the good sport award.
Fishing guides are available throughout the event to hand out bait or extra fishing supplies, to measure and record all the fish and to nominate the good sport. The good sport award goes to the child keeps a good attitude, helps or shares.
The Champaign County Forest Preserve uses cane polls because they are collapsible for storage, but also because they can get over 200 people at one event. Crappie polls, which don’t have reels, help keep the hooks in the water are less maintenance.
Instruction stations will run continuously throughout the event for children who have never fished or used a crappie poll. They will learn how to drop the line in the water, what to do when you get a fish on the hook and how to remove the fish from the hook.
Adult supervision is required at the Take Me Fishing event. The Illinois fishing license requirement has been waived for this event. All fishing is catch-and-release only.
