Monday, September 8, 2008

What websites have you found helpful?

Any favorite websites helpful in planning your boating and fishing programs??

43 comments:

Anonymous said...
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Anonymous said...

I haven't used any as of yet, but the information from the training has been very resourceful! My students are very excited about this new opportunity that has been given to them!

Steve Walsh said...

Hello All! So am I the only one that was planning on buying the fly rod stuff from the estore? I bet not! But anyway...I found a website (thanks to Matt Wilhelm) that might be useful for some fly equipement. It is www.troutlet.com. Hope that others can find it helpful!

Vance Holmes said...

I have used: http://www.mexfish.com/baja/baja/af020115/af020115.htm
http://www.michigancarp.com/index.php
http://www.carpanglersgroup.com/carpingtips.html
http://www.fishweb.com/recreation/fishing/fishfacts/

http://dnr.wi.gov/fish/lakemich/LIFEHISTORIES.htm

Nikole Lahaie said...

Our year just got underway last week, and we are still getting to know each other. At this time, I have not used websites, but my students are excited about the new unit.

Nikole Lahaie said...

Our school year just started last week, so we are still getting to know each other. I haven't had the chance to look at websites yet, but my students are excited about the new unit!

Matt Huhta said...

Hey everyone! I had fun getting access to the grant money through my district. I am beginning to order fly fishing equipment as well. Cabela's is giving up to 10% on most anything you buy from them.

Tracy McKenzie said...

I don't have any websites to add... but I did check out a book from the library called First Cast-Teaching Kids to Fly Fish by Phil Genova. This has been a good resource for some extra advice and info. (Similiar to the Student Manual of Fly Fishing on the disc but more details)

Jessica Redfearn said...

Hello Everyone,

A great website with free resources is the IDNR (Ilinois). I got handouts, posters, and activities. You can get as many as you want or a few as you want.
Just started looking at Shakespeare to order poles. Then get the revised budget in by October 1st-ish :)
Good Luck, getting started.

Steve Walsh said...

Jess-
I took a look at the website and I was just wondering what exactly you got? I didn't find much that I could use. Let me know!

jstu said...

Greetings Educators!
It is great to see the exchange here. Anne and Theresa have been bragging about you all and please know that your participation here will make a huge difference in helping this program to grow.
Thank you and happy fishing!!!
Also, please don't forget to answer the question at the bottom of the blog (and feel free to suggest a new question too!)

Scott Russell said...

Right now I really don't have any fishing or boating specific sites, but here's one to find water levels of rivers- anywhere in the country. Many have descriptions of the runs too. The site shows water levels- which may help in deciding whether to fish or not if that's what you are doing. The site will tell you whether levels are low, medium or high and you can also find out the flow information. Hope someone can use it!

Pam Murray said...

Hi Everyone! Hope the school year has started off well. I'm just now beginning to think about some of the curriculum changes we will need to make to incorporate a fuller fishing program. Looking forward to getting started on that.
Came across an Illinois site that has educator fishing/boating related information. Haven't jumped in yet but looks like a good resource as I skimmed it. The website is www.ifishillinois.org in case your interested. Take Care, Pam from Illinois

Scott Russell said...

Ha! just realized I never left the site for river levels . Here it is: http://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River_view_
Yeah, I know, this probably doesn't count as my second blog entry for the month!

Wendy Weathers said...

Hey Ya'll, Busy, Busy. Our event is Oct. 21. Don't have any new websights. Teachers at my school are excited about event. More info later.

Emily Walters said...

Hi all! I have not had a lot of time to do some research. We are trying to get through hurricane season down here! My students are very excited about the program and I have already received a tremendous amount of support from my administration and staff.

George Bienusa said...

I just received 24 books donated by Jerry Carlson, a Minnesota Pro fisherman, titled Details for Locating and Catching Fish. Just browsing through the book it shows many interesting facts on fishing. It looks like it will be a great benefit for the students.

Coach Schmitt said...

try this link for a great lesson on fish printing, our schools art teacher has the kids into fish

Coach Schmitt said...

http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/content/3436/

nice if i put in the link

todd

jstu said...

Great posts (I am addicted to this!)
The fish print lesson is great, especially because there is a pretty accessible evaluation plan and template.
Any boating activities yet?

The Future Fisherman Foundation said...

George,
How did you go about getting the books donated to your for your program? Can you give some tips to others on seeking donations?
Teresa

Pat Goldhahn (Montana) said...

Hello everybody! Anne and Teresa came to Montana last week and watched the students create the cork handles for their fly rods. They interviewed some of the students about their experiences. The students were really excited.

Some very helpful places to look for rod building materials:

www.anglersworkshop.com
(ask for Rick)

www.rodbuilder.com

George Bienusa said...

To get donations all I did was write an email to various people in Central Minnesota. I took bits of the letter that Pete Della Ratta had on the CD from the workshop, added some things that fit to our school and district and sent them via email. I have had talks with other companys as well. Right now I am in talks with Babe Winkelman on having him come talk to our students. (Babe grew up less than 20 miles from our school). Hopefully, we can work out a time for him to come to our school.

Wayne Sutherland said...

Where did you look for closed faced rod and reels like the ones in our backyard bass session this summer? I also would like to know if anyone knows where to get a line on some used hip waders?

wayne

Steve Walsh said...

Wayne (and anyone else that would like to know)-
I contacted Shakespear and was able to purchase the same rod/reel combo that we used at the training. Something like $8.75 each.

Contact is Roxanne Coleman
roxanne@shakespeare-fishing.com
(800) 334-9105

I just told her what I was looking for and she sent me the price list and everything else I would need.

John Fields said...

Hi to all Florida residents.
If you go to sunsportstv.com you can register for "Fishing with Ferrel" sweepstakes. The winner gets $1500 worth of fishing gear from Dick's Sporting Goods and a fishing trip with Ferrel.
Sorry to all others ,but Florida residency is a requirement. Good Luck!

sherry said...

Our fifth grade team is excited about the fishing unit. Our event will be Oct. 29 & 30. We will fishing at a community park that is stocked with channel cats. I'm still trying to get my equipment together. No new websites, however. Our state mobile aquarium will be coming to our school in November.

Tammi Lipovsky said...

Hello! This is the first chance I have had to even look at this. I don't plan to start many of these lessons until spring. Right now, I'm getting my fish tank set up to start hatching salmon in my classroom. I don't have any websites to add at this time.

Vance Holmes said...

Hey Gang-have I got something you might think about. I know that a lot of you live in places where the fishing is great for the "normal" types of fish. But, there must be some out there that live in cities where fishing within a short distance is limited to parks and such. Do I dare say the word Carp here? They are big, they are available in almost every area, especially areas with lower quality water (city water). Carp have catch and release written all over them. Last weekend I was invited to go carp fishing with a guy (I met him on Michigan Carp Fishing Adventure website) that knows the sport and he helped a high school student catch a 17 lb carp. Anyway, you are either going to love or hate carp so I'll stop trying to sell you on the idea. However, for those that are interested, I just got off the phone with Andy from Resistance tackle.com. His tackle company is a delight to work with, I have equipment coming by next monday, and the only reason that it won't be here sooner is that the rods I ordered are out of stock until Thursday. This tackle company is mostly for carp fisherman, but there might be some items in the store for anyone.
Also, the Michigan Carp Adventure website would be a great place to check out for anyone who wants to get their kids into carp fishing. I have been on their forum (no charge for membership, thank you very much) and they have people who love the sport of carp fishing and are loaded with information. If you happen to be from Michigan, they can give you information on not only how to fish for carp but where.

Vance Holmes said...

Sports Authority sports shops in my area are having a clearance sale. They are selling plastic coated handout sized 'How To' BASIC FLY-TYING sheets for $1.47 each. These sheets look perfect for helping kids when they are learning fly-tying. You might check out a store in your area for a good deal. Maybe they would even give them to you if they don't sell on clearance. Might be worth checking out.

Bobdever said...

I use this for environmental health units for 5th grade.

http://www.kidsforsavingearth.org/programs/garbagechallenge.html

I use this for teaching knot tying

http://www.animatedknots.com/indexfishing.php?LogoImage=LogoGrog.jpg&Website=www.animatedknots.com

Anonymous said...

I have been researching and finding alot of information and material. One that I thought I would share is www.flwoutdoors.com. This site has alot of information such as: Tips on where to catch fish, where fish live, where fish swim, choosing the right kind of bait, tips for a safe fishing trip, discusses fishing equipment and what to take on the trip, 4 types of knots, fishing species and conservation.

Tammi Lipovsky said...

I hatch salmon in my classroom and they are setting up a forum. I thought I would share the site with other SIC http://www.salmonintheclassroom.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl

Vance Holmes said...

I just found this website that shows how to make basic knots for fishing and a variety of other things. The website not only has step by step pictures, it also has a video type presentation with drawings showning the knots being tied. http://www.netknots.com/html/fishing_knots.html

Steve Walsh said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Steve Walsh said...

Vance excellent website. I plan on using this next week when I start my second unit with a new group of kids. I also have the powerpoint that Pete Della Ratta used at the training so if anyone is interested in this knot powerpoint, let me know and I can get it to you.
swalsh@kiel.k12.wi.us

Wendy Weathers said...

YEEHAW!!!!!!!!
We went fishing today!!! The kids caught tons of catfish, learned how to clean them and about internal and external anatomy from a Alabama fisheries biologist, learned how to cook their catch. Were introduced to pond and lake ecology and management from a fisheries biologist, and learned about boating safety from a Alabama marine police and ranger from the corp of engineers. Our theme is hooked on fishing not on drugs so this is fitting right in with our red ribbon/drug free week.
Thursday we are fish printing t-shirts and wearing them with our fishing hats on Friday. Local and County Administration were impressed. We were covered by the local paper. I had 48 volunteers and 5 teachers to help out.
100 4th - 6th students participated. It was a lot of work but worth it all.

Vance Holmes said...

Wendy,
Great job!
The thing that impressed me the most was how many people you were able to get to help with the project. Asking people to help has always been hard for me. Now with the world the way it is, everyone that helps in our school district has to have a background check first.
By the way, if have had it "suggested" to me that I wear my school ID badge "every day." (Hey, I put it where I know I can find it again, next year.) Anyway, we have a new woman administrator. She had forgotten her ID yesterday and told me she was concerned about going all day without it. "No problem," I said, wear mine. She did, and only one person noticed the whole day, and that was a student.
I love to fish for Catfish, but Michigan is a "little" cold to grow them big. I have a video, by In-Fisherman, Called CATFISH FEVER. I love that video. "Toad" one of the people in the video, tells us how it is. "If you want to catch Catfish, never brush your teeth, never take a bath."
It is sad that "Toad" passed on after making the video, I miss him. I am sure "Toad" would think it is great that young people will continue to fish for his favorite fish. Keep up the good work.
Hey, I am sure you let the kids know it is okay to be clean, I am sure "Toad" has to shower in Heaven.

Vance Holmes said...

I just found a website that gives helpful hints on casting various types of reels.
http://www.angelfire.com/ia3/fishing/howtocast.htm

jennifernesmith said...

I used the Grog fishing knots site,
www.animatedknots.com/indexfishing.php to demonstrate how to tie knots with the students. I also
passed on the site to the art teacher who used it with the students. She has taken up the job of the fish prints and the fly tying and they are all loving it!

John Fields said...

A big thanks to Steve Walsh for the lead to Shakespeare. The selection and prices they offer are fantastic. I felt like a kid in a candy store looking at the catalogs. I finally decided on Prius rods and Synergy steel reels. I was able to save over half of what I had put into my budget.

Steve Walsh said...

Thanks but the real thank you goes to Dave Hagengruber from Montana. He is the one who gave me the info at the training and I just followed through. Hope others found it useful as well!

Future Fisherman Foundation said...

I LOVE the animated knots website!!!

wwww.animatedknots.com

I also just discovered the teachers resource pages on wwww.troutintheclassroom.com