SPRING 2004 (Answers: 1, Safety; 2, Manners; 3, Appreciate; 4, Release; 5, Teach.) 1. S_ _ _ _ _ first. If fishing from a boat, wear your life jacket. Always walk when carrying your fishing rod. Secure the hook to your rod when you’re walking to your spot. Look behind (and above) before casting. Take someone with you. Let an adult know where you’re going and when you’ll be back. 2. M _ _ _ _ _ _ are important. Be polite and helpful to other anglers. Ask permission from landowners to enter their property to fish. Give other anglers plenty of space. Don’t litter. Pick up any litter you find. 3. A _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ clean water. Without clean water, there are no fish. Learn all you can about the fish you seek and the places where they live. Do what you can to protect our water resources. 4. R _ _ _ _ _ _ some of your catch. Land fish quickly and handle them as little as possible. Release fish quickly and gently. Keep only those fish you will eat. Pack fish on ice to keep them fresh until you get home. 5. T _ _ _ _ others to be SMART anglers. The future of our sport is in your hands. Share what you know with others. Take someone fishing: Young or old, fishing is for everyone! I’ll bet you think you are a smart angler. You fish where the fish are. You know which lures to use in different situations. You know how to tie a knot or two. And you’ve even caught your share of fish! If that’s the case, then you are a smart angler! Good for you! But what we’re talking about is a SMART angler. Each letter in the word “SMART” stands for an important part of being an angler. Use the clues below to fill in the blanks and figure out what being SMART is all about. The answers appear on the left at the bottom of this page.
If fishing from a boat, wear your lifejacket.Always walk when carrying your fishingrod.Secure the hook to your rod when you’rewalking to your spot.Look behind (and above) before casting.Take someone with you.Let an adult know where you’re going andwhen you’ll be back.
2. M _ _ _ _ _ _ are important.Be polite and helpful to other anglers.Ask permission from landowners to entertheir property to fish.Give other anglers plenty of space.Don’t litter. Pick up any litter you find.
3. A _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ clean water.
Without clean water, there are no fish.Learn all you can about the fish you seekand the places where they live.Do what you can to protect our waterresources.
4. R _ _ _ _ _ _ some of your catch.Land fish quickly and handle them aslittle as possible.Release fish quickly and gently.Keep only those fish you will eat.Pack fish on ice to keep them fresh untilyou get home.
5. T _ _ _ _ others to be SMART anglers.The future of our sport is in your hands.Share what you know with others.Take someone fishing: Young or old,fishing is for everyone!
I’ll bet you think you are a smart angler. You fish where the fish are. You knowwhich lures to use in different situations. You know how to tie a knot or two. Andyou’ve even caught your share of fish!
If that’s the case, then you are a smart angler! Good for you! But what we’re talkingabout is a SMART angler. Each letter in the word “SMART” stands for an importantpart of being an angler. Use the clues below to fill in the blanks and figure out whatbeing SMART is all about. The answers appear on the left at the bottom of this page.
No matter whatactivity we enjoy,safety should alwayscome first. Some-times laws help us tobe safe—like wearinga helmet while ridinga bicycle, or wearinga life jacket whenboating.
Unlike boating,though, there aren’tmany laws or regula-tions to keep us safewhile fishing. Butthere are many com-mon-sense thingsanglers should re-member. Completethe sentences andthen find the wordsin the word search.
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ANSWERS
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nhoretchalde
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hookyglsairp
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Word SearchChoices:cold waterslippery rocksdeep holeswadershookfinsiceboatedgescastingbranches
• When fishing from a _________, wear your life jacket.• Remember that _____ _____ calls for extra caution—
it can zap heat from your body.• Always secure the _____ to your rod when not fishing.• Watch your step on ________ _______.• When wading, ________ _______ could cause you to
go in over your boots or head.• Wear ________ with felt-soled bottoms.• Watch out for those sharp _________ on fish.• Know how thick the _______ is before you go out on it.• Stay back from slippery or unstable bank _________.• Always check behind you before _________.• If your lure or hook gets hung up in ________,
don’t jerk it—give a steady tug to free your line.
Written by: Carl Richardson, Laurel Garlicki, Keith Edwards, Dennis Tubbs, Walt Dietz and Carl HaenselEdited by: Art Michaels • Layout, design and illustration: Ted Walke • PLAY subscriptions: Linda Covage and Patti Copp
toward those around you. Give otheranglers plenty of space to fish. Be re-spectful and keep your voice down. Ifyou’re catching fish, keep your hootingand hollering to yourself. Many anglers gofishing to enjoy the peace and quiet. Yourbig smile, not your loud noises, will showeveryone around you that you’re having agreat time.
Please feel free tophotocopy this card.
It’s important to use good mannerswhen you’re at the dinner table. It’salso important to use good mannerswhen you’re fishing. Good manners canmake a more enjoyable day for you andothers around you.
Good manners include asking permis-sion from landowners before entering theirland to fish, or before just crossing theirland to reach a fishing spot.
Many landownersallow strangers tocross their property tofish. They don’t haveto. They do this as acourtesy.
One way to showyour appreciation isnot to litter. And besure to pick up anylitter you may find.
A more traditionalway to show yourappreciation is with athank-you card. Usethe notecard below towrite a short thank-you note to yourfavorite landowner.
While you’re on thewater it’s important toshow good manners
When you appreciatesomething, you aregrateful for it and value it.Appreciation is something youfeel inside. But if you reallyappreciate something, it’s easyto show it on the outside—BY YOUR ACTIONS.
Learning more about something.What is one thing related to fish or fishing that you wantto learn more about?
Doing things to protect what you appreciate.List two things you can do to protect fish or fishing.
Letting others know why you think it’s important.Describe why fish and fishing are important to you.
You can showyour appreciation by:
1
2
3
1)2)
Check out the Commission’s web site : www.fish.state.pa.us
You’ll probablywant to keep someof the fish you catchbecause most everyoneenjoys a fresh fish meal.Be sure you’ve followedthe seasons, sizes andcreel limits in theSummary of FishingRegulations and Laws.
Then keeponly the fishyou intendto eat.
THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE YOU GO:• Do I know the seasons, sizes and creel limits for
the fish I’ll try to catch?• Are there any special regulations (like catch
and release) for the area I’ll fish? • Do I like to eat fish? • Do others at home like to eat fish? • How many fish are “enough” for me
and my family? • Who is going to clean and cook
the fish? Does that person know how? • Do I have a way to keep the
You’re not alone if youthink unhooking a fish can be
tricky. Some fish have toughskin around their mouth. Some-
times fish get hooked in an awkwardspot. Lures with multiplehooks (like treble hooks) can
seem impossible to remove!Before you go fishing, find a sturdy pair
of pliers for your tackle box. Use the pliersto squeeze the barb down on each hook.Barbs are designed to help keep fishhooked. Removing the barb, or squeezingit down, makes removing the hook easier.You might think that barbless hooks mean you’re hooking and reeling in fewer fish. But ifyou’re careful about how you set the hook and reel in the fish, you’ll find that you don’tlose many fish.
Removing a hook quickly from a fish is one importantpart to releasing fish. Another important part is keepingthe fish safe during its release. The law states you mustimmediately return a fish unharmed if it is caught out ofseason, if it is too small, or if catching it puts you over thedaily creel limit. That means you must work quickly andcarefully! Use these guidelines to get the job done.
• Land the fish quickly. Don’t let it fight and jump until it’sexhausted. Increase the drag on your reel and make sure yourfishing line is in good condition.
• Keep the fish in the water as long as possible. Try not tobring the fish onto land where it can flop around on the ground.
• Handle the fish as little as possible. Quickly remove thehook. Practice grabbing the hook shank and turning the hookupside down. Usually the fish will slide off the hook. If not,give it a gentle shake.
• If you must handle the fish, make sure your hands are wetbefore you touch the fish.
• Sometimes a fish will get hooked deeply and there’s noway to get the hook out. Just snip the line as close as possibleto the fish’s mouth. Then release the fish. The fish has a good
chance of surviving.
• Return the fish gently to the water as soonas possible. Remember that “unharmed” is thekey word.
• Give the fish a few seconds to “shake itoff.” Then, if the fish doesn’t swim away, gentlymove it back and forth in the water. This helps itget a fresh dose of oxygen by moving water overits gills.
