Fishing News - 7/12/03
CHECKLIST FOR YOUNG ANGLER SAFETY
KETCHUM, Okla. When you go fishing with kids, you need more than fishing
tackle. For safety’s sake, you’ve got to bring the right attitude Safety Comes First as well as the right stuff.That’s the advice from Hooked on Fishing International (HOFI), producers of the Wal-Mart Kids All-American Fishing Derby. This year, its seventeenth, the Wal-Mart Kids All-American Fishing Derby program, along with the help of thousands of local volunteers, will take 300,000 kids
fishing on lakes and ponds in all 50 states.Here’s the Safety-Comes-First checklist that HOFI has developed to guide the adult volunteers who supervise all those children (some as young as 5) in more than 1,800 fishing events held at the water’s edge.
§ Establish rules. No running. Keep your shoes on, and look around before you cast.
§ Set up a buddy system. The youngest anglers need an adult "buddy" and
constant supervision.§ Make sure each angler, swimmers and non-swimmers alike, wears a personal flotation device at all times -- on the boat, on the dock, or on the shore.
§ Bring a long-handled fish net, not just for netting fish, but in case you need to reach out to someone in the water. It will also retrieve trash or valuables from the water.
§ First Aid Kit. You should have a kit with medical supplies to deal with all manner of cuts and scrapes, bruises and bumps, bites and boo-boos. You’re likely to be some distance away from professional medical assistance so remember, in the meantime, you’re the "doctor." Johnson & Johnson First Aid Pocket Pals are a smart addition to the tackle box.
§ Cold drink breaks. Summer temperatures can get pretty warm, so bring lots of cool water and other healthy drinks and make sure the young anglers drink fluids often to prevent dehydration or even heat stroke.
§ Sunscreen. The ultraviolet (UV) light of the sun can do a lot of damage to skin, eyes and lips. Outfit young anglers with proper sunglasses, a billed cap, and clothing appropriate to the climate and sun conditions. Avoid fishing in the middle of the day. Cover face, neck, ears, the back of hands and all exposed skin with sunscreen with a sun protection factor of 15 or higher. Apply chap protection wax on lips.
§ Insect repellent. Mosquitoes, ticks, bees and other insects not only sting, they can carry diseases of one kind or another. Apply insect repellent. Follow the directions on the container. If your insect repellent contains "Deet," it may be better to apply it to the clothing instead of the skin.
§ Safety comes first. All the checklists in the world can’t anticipate all of the safety problems you or your young anglers might encounter on a fishing trip. So the best advice is think safety at all times. Look for trouble before it finds you. If it finds you anyway, know how to deal with it.
HOFI teaches Safety Comes First to the organizations and adult volunteers that do the hard work of staging 1,800 fishing events every year. Organizations interested in hosting a youth fishing event can learn more about the program and even register on the web site, www.kids-fishing.com.
Qualifying groups receive a free kit with the items needed to put on a local derby, including event promotion tools, a how-to handbook, name badges, prizes and goodies for each derby participant.
Parents who would like to bring their children to one of the events can find the nearest derby, and the dates, by checking the Derby Locator, also on the web site. The Derby Locator section even supplies the phone number of the local derby person to call for more information
In addition to Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., the Kids All-American Fishing Derby program benefits from its partnerships with Bar-S Foods Company, Berkley PowerBait, Berkley Trilene, ConAgra Foods, Dubble Bubble Bubble Gum, Eagle Claw, EverStart Batteries, FishingWorld.com, Fujifilm, Johnson & Johnson First Aid Pocket Pals, Kellogg’s, Kraft Foods, Laker Fishing Tackle and Zebco.
