Yesterday the Division of Sport Fish Aquatic Education Program held their annual ice fishing trip for students from the Kenai Peninsula School District at Sport Lake.
The event saw over 600 children, kindegarten through 6th grade, who were able to ice fish throughout the day and was staffed with volunteers, Alaska Department of Fish and Wildlife staff, parents, and teachers.
Fisheries Biologist, Jay Baumer, oversees all the fisheries education for South Central Alaska.
Baumer: “Kids are learning about ice safety and catch and release and fishing and just having a good time outside.”
The event was part of the Alaska Fish and Game’s “Salmon in the Classroom”. Jenny Cope, a fisheries biologist for ADFG has been helping with the program for over four years now.
Cope: “We like to get the kids out to learn about angler ethics, learn a new winter recreational opportunity, such as ice fishing, learn a little bit about the different species we stock into Sport Lake. But really just to get them out on a fun outdoor activity that we offer.”
Molly Copple, summer hire for Fish and Game, volunteered for the event.
“We definietly share with them they really can’t stay out of the water very long, and if like one fish is injured you can’t really put it back because there isn’t much of a chance of it to live. Mostly just taking it out of water and realizing that if you take it out of water the chances of it living is pretty low.”
And 9-year-old Ben Blersma, from Kaleidoscope, was excited about the day, even though he didn’t catch anything.
Blersma: “I learned a little bit more how to fish.”