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Free fishing expo attracts families from across the region · Illinois Valley - Shaw Local

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  Speaker 1: Free Fishing Expo attracts families from across the region. Written
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  by Matthias Werner, this article is being read by an
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  automated voice brought to you by Everlett rough Life. Three
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  hundred children came out to the twenty sixth annual Free
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  Kids Fishing Expo on Saturday at Baker Lake in Peru,
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  accompanied by family members. These children learned about the basics
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  of fishing from volunteers and members of the Better Fishing
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  Association of Northern Illinois. It's good to know that fishing
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  is alive within these kids that come out. Carolyn Poor,
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  a long time volunteer with the expo, said, it gets
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  them to do something out in nature and away from
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  the phones, the TV, and the Xbox. Kids ages six
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  and up got to learn about various aspects of fishing
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  at nine different stations, including ethics, technique, tools, games, and
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  interactive experiences and activities with the fish and equipment they
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  can expect to encounter for their future fishing endeavors in
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  the area. I think it's great that these kids are
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  getting out of the house and getting into something that's
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  in nature. Vice president of the Better Fishing Association, Alisha
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  Farmer said Farmer has led the organization of the expo
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  for the last fifteen years. Not only are these kids
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  outside and engaging, but they're actively participating in this. She said.
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  I think that's what separates this event from others and
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  why we can have this every year. Kids learn from
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  experienced anglers about casting, not tying, baiting a hook one
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  dollar two dollars, identifying catches, and cleaning fish. The fishing
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  expo at Baker Lake attracts people from all across the
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  region and keeps introducing new anglers to the community. Ryan Horner,
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  a Sheridan resident, brought his seven year old son, Ellis,
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  to his first organized fishing event on Saturday, and Ellis
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  had one goal in mind. I want to catch my
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  first fish, he said. I've gone fishing before, but never
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  caught anything. Xander Welch, a six year old from Depew,
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  tested his fishing skills at Felt Fish Pond, an exercise
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  for younger kids to cast a line out from a
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  mock body of water to catch a fish and earn
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  a prize. Both Ellis and Xander can put what they
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  learned to the test at the fishing competition on June
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  sixth at Loche fourteen in LaSalle,