Local sixth-graders get feet wet at Pine Lake

For some, this was the first trip out of the city and into the country.
By MARALINE KUBIK
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
NORTH LIMA -- The worms were real. So were the maggots. The fish gobbled them up and the kids, even the squeamish ones, can't wait to bait their hooks again.
For most of the 34 sixth-graders from Youngstown's Bennett Elementary School, the visit to Pine Lake was their first fishing trip.
Principal Bruce Palmer taught the kids how to cast their lines in the school hallway the day before and spent two days in the classroom going over literature about different kinds of fish and how to hook them, all part of the "Hooked On Fishing, Not Drugs" program developed by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.
"All of the kids learned that there are better things to do with their lives than to do drugs -- like fishing," Palmer said. "This was the first time some of them were out of the city and in the country."
For some of the kids, fishing might provide an alternative to recreational drug use, he said; the trip helped them recognize there are plenty of fun and healthy alternatives.
"I'm definitely going back fishing," announced Bracia Mitchell, 12. "I might go this weekend, and I might invite Aleemah," she said, referring to her friend and classmate, Aleemah Freeman.
"It was more fun because we were with our friends. It wouldn't have been so much fun if we were with our parents," Aleemah added, obviously excited about the prospect of a second trip.
"Yeah, we want to go with our friends," squealed another equally excited 12-year-old, Stephanie Woods.
Stephanie said she caught on to the trick of casting after only a couple of tries, but she still doesn't know how to keep the fish from stealing the worms off her hook.
Aleemah had a different problem: keeping baited hooks from getting caught in her hair.
"I got it out, and the worm didn't come off," she shrugged.
"Yeew! I'd wash my hair six times if that happened to me," Bracia exclaimed.
Success stories
Despite the minor mishaps, all three girls happily reported that they'd caught fish.
"I caught two white perch," Bracia said, beaming with pride.
"I caught two bluegills and a something bass -- it was a small one," Stephanie boasted.
"I caught one. It was silver," chirped Aleemah.
The master fisherman, the girls agreed, was definitely Jorge Canete.
"I caught eight fish," he said. "Bluegill, white perch and a silver one."
Jorge was one of the few pupils who'd been fishing before.
"This was my second fishing trip, and I'm going to go again this summer in Florida," he said with a broad smile across his face.
Despite his experience, Jorge said he got his line so tangled that he had to cut it twice. "Then a rock took my hook," he said.
He lost his bobber on the first cast, but he said he thinks that may have been the secret to his success.
The kids also found a snake, ate a picnic lunch at the playground and watched some of their classmates get wet.
All the fish were returned to the lake.
kubik@vindy.com