Hi! This is Harley, presenting the monthly Kidz Korner column to you! This edition’s topic is the experiences available for fishing/angling by the FEC & Suncoast Youth Conservation Center (the excellent organization that provides marine-related activities for FREE to youngsters)!
A few short weeks ago, a friend invited me to a mother-daughter event called the Ladyfish Luncheon. I wasn’t quite sure what it was, but my mom had already signed us up, so we were hooked (pun intended).
IT WAS SO FUN! If I hadn’t already tolerated fishing before the event, I enjoyed it now.
Some of the facts we learned were that circle hooks are more ethical than J-hooks—because they won’t tragically slither down the unfortunate fish’s esophagus—and that there are limits to how many and the size of fish you can catch.
Another fact is that some fish have very fragile jaws, so holding all fishes by mouth would not be appropriate. Supporting their belly is better because they’re oriented sideways from swimming like that their whole short lives. And did you know that stretching out your arms as far as you can, like a zombie, makes the fish look larger in pictures?!
The Suncoast Youth Conservation Center was an amazing property, with plenty of room to fish and a squishy marsh with adorable minnows! (I mistook them for tadpoles at first. 😂)
The rotations were educational and entertaining, and the staff was extremely courteous. Watching them scamper around the pond to help someone when she had a fish on the line and yelled “FISH ON!” was more than mildly entertaining!
The friend who invited me didn’t catch ANYTHING at a previous competition, but she was blessed with the two biggest fish in the POND that day!
When we arrived, the staff didn’t say, “Hi. Here’s a fish, now throw it back in the water.” No! They gave us the tools we needed to catch our own. And that’s what Jesus does. We need to work like everything depends on us and pray like everything depends on Him.
Also, the apostle Peter advises us to “Cast all your anxiety on Him, because he cares for you (1 Peter 5:7).” And we should.
At the very end of the fishing experience, each attendee returned home with the brand-new teal fishing pole they had used that day and the means to create even more memories for years to come!
Harley Isabel Smith
harleyisabelsmith.com
Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these. Matthew 19:14
Harley Isabel Smith is a homeschooled 6th grader who has been featured on TV as a philanthropist, has a heart for evangelism, and writes monthly for the Gazette’s Kidz Korner. Visit https://harleyisabelsmith.com where she is constantly adding written and video content to entertain and educate children. Matthew 19:14 Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”