Kids get hooked on fishing in Lakewood Ranch

It was back in 2015, when Sarasota's Brenda Root sent her sons Michael and Jared to the Youth and Teen Fishing Seminar hosted by the Lakewood Ranch Anglers Club and Lakewood Ranch Community Activities.

Both Brenda and her husband Dale remembered the impact it had on their boys.

"They still talk about it," Brenda Root said. "It gives kids a love of fishing. It helped them feel that they could do it."

After Dale Root retired, he started looking around for ways to give back to his community.

One way was to be a Boy Scout volunteer, even though his four kids were all adults.

He also wanted to do something else. So a year ago, the Roots were visiting the Lakewood Ranch Block Party and Club Day when Brenda saw the Lakewood Ranch Anglers Club table.

"That's what you need," she told her husband.

A year later, Dale Root is talking about how the youth clinic on May 3 at the Summerfield Park Pavilion in Lakewood Ranch will help the club members share their love of fishing with kids.

Almost 100 kids have signed up for the clinic, so anyone whose kids want to attend needs to act quickly. The club will hold the number of participants to about 120 so they all can get some individual attention from the 12 to 15 volunteers who will be working the event.

The kids will take turns attending four stations that will teach them various aspects of fishing. When the kids sign off on all four stations, they will receive a free Zebco rod and reel courtesy of Fish Florida.

Root said there are several reasons the club offers the clinic. Here are five:

1. "It can get kids hooked on an activity that can last a lifetime." Dale Root said. "You can do it from the time you are real little to when you are a super senior." He also noted that those with physical challenges have more opportunities now that fishing equipment is available for those with special needs. He also said more awareness has led to docks and piers being more wheelchair accessible.
2. "We try to teach them the basic nuts and bolts," Dale Root said. "Everyone has to start somewhere." He said the club members will teach knot tying and the basics of casting, and will talk about different types of tackle and bait. Brenda Root said some lessons can be as simple as how to carry a fishing pole.
3. "We want the kids to learn that fishing is a way to take advantage of your environment," Root said. "It is a chance to get kids away from the cell phones." He said he often hears parents say that fishing is a way to get their boys outside. And the clinic always has been attended by a lot of girls, too.
4. "Fishing is an opportunity to make friends," Root said. He said he is a good example of that now that he has retired and has joined the fishing club. He has reconnected with former friends who fish and he has met new friends in the club. He said he says active with his friends in the club, and through helping the Boy Scouts.
5. "We want to teach fishing basics to kids whose parents might not know anything about it," he said. It's a good opportunity for parents who might feel challenged when it comes to fishing to let their kids learn from the experts.