Fishing clinic 'a fantastic event'

PORTALES — The next generation of fishermen and women honed their skills on Saturday as Oasis State Park hosted its 27th annual kids fishing clinic.

Eight different stations were set up around the pond for kids to learn different aspects of fishing including fly fishing and how to clean the fish after catching it.

Taylor Quinn brought her children to the clinic and appreciated the chance for them to learn about fishing.

"I think they put on a fantastic event," Quinn said. "They had it very well-organized and they did a really good job. They had a lot of information that even us as grown ups who grew up fishing, I had never heard, so that was really cool."

Acting Park Manager Valerie Russ was happy to have 51 kids participate in the clinic and learn these valuable fishing skills.

"I think it went really well," Russ said. "I'm ecstatic that we had a great turnout. It turned out really well considering the kids have sporting events and other things that could potentially keep them away but we had a good turnout and it seems like the kids enjoyed all the stations."

Russ thanked the volunteers from the Eastern New Mexico University Fish & Wildlife Club and other organizations that helped man the stations and put on the event.

David Stambaugh from First in the Field, an organization that teaches first-time hunters, fishers, and shooters, led one of the stations focused on fly fishing.

Stambaugh said he talked to the kids about various aspects of fly fishing including fly casting, the parts of the fly rod, and how bait fishing is different from fly fishing.

Stambaugh said he particularly enjoyed the kids' enthusiasm and the responses they would give to his questions.

"I love the crazy answers that they come up with," Stambaugh said. "You say 'we're going to learn about fly fishing,' and they're like 'why would you want to fish for flies?'"

Stambaugh said it's important to teach kids these types of skills like fishing and hunting in order to give them the confidence to stick with it and become a licensed fisher or hunter, as those license fees help pay for places like Oasis.

"It's important that we have that next generation that's going to invest in the same way that our generation and my parent's generation has all these years so that we have the resources and the money to continue to enhance our habitat and support our fish populations and our wildlife populations," Stambaugh said.

Landon Fields was one of the kids who participated in the event. He said his favorite part was learning how to tie his own knots, but he also enjoyed the fish cleaning demonstration.

"My favorite part was when you tied the knots because you can do it over and over and over and then get really good at it," Fields said. "(The fish cleaning) was actually pretty fun. You got to see the inside of a fish; I mean, who doesn't want to see that?"