Basic Spincasting Unit 1

Introduction to Fishing - Educator Packet

Teaching Suggestions

Open the discussion by asking students if they have fished before. Spend a few minutes discussing their experiences. Ask questions such as, “Where did you fish?” “Did you catch fish?” “If you didn’t catch any fish, did you still enjoy your trip?” “Did you notice any other wildlife or interesting landscapes or plants?” See the following activity ideas below to further explore specific topics.

History of Fishing

Discuss the origins of fishing for subsistence, commercial, and recreational purposes.(See Background Information.)
Conduct an Internet search on the history of fishing.
Complete the History of Fishing Review Sheet

Where to Fish

Divide students into groups of 3-4. Hand out Fish Iowa! card decks, identification posters, and/or ID guide. In their groups, students can find and discuss fish species they have caught and where they caught them.
Distribute copies of Iowa’s Waters. Discuss the fishery in Iowa including characteristics and regional locations of the different types of waters found in the state, emphasizing those in your area and those students described when discussing where they had fished. (Refer to the Background Information.)
Check out Aquatic Environments or the following Aquatic Habitats Fact Sheets:

Discuss the different regions of a body of water. What are the characteristics of each? (See Background Information.)
Learn more about Biological Lake Zones on the web.
Check out the online guide IDNR | Where to Fish.

Fisheries Management

Discuss the importance of resource management in sustaining Iowa’s fishery. What are the roles of the DNR and anglers in resource management? What are some problems that face our fishery and what methods currently are being used to manage it? (See Background Information.)
Discuss angler responsibility to the resource and other recreationists. (See Take Me Fishing | 10 Surprising Ways You Can Help With Fishing Conservation.)
Have students conduct an Internet search for information about a local water body. What information can you find about the current status of the water body and fishery it supports? Discuss activities that impact the resource – both positive and negative.
Check out the following online resources related to management:
Complete the Fisheries Management Review Sheet.
Check out activities from Aquatic WILD related to resource management and issues:

How Wet is Our Planet?
Watershed
What’s in the Water
Something’s Fishy Here
Fishable Waters
To Dam or Not to Dam
Silt: A Dirty Word
Dam Design
Gone Fishing
Dragonfly Pond

Note: Aquatic WILD guides are available via training. Check out the Iowa Project WILD training site for more information.

Fishing Regulations

Review management practices to lead into a discussion of fishing regulations. Read the Quick Fishing Facts, or view the Iowa Fishing Regulations online (hard copy also available).
Emphasize major concepts that drive development of regulations as described in the Background Information.
Invite your local DNR conservation officer (listed in the current Iowa Fishing Regulations) to present information about regulations. Check out the following online resources on fishing laws and licenses:
- IDNR | Fishing Licenses & Laws (includes link to PDF of current regulations )
Complete the Regulations and Ethics Review Sheet.

Preparation and Safety

Planning:

Divide students into groups and have each brainstorm a list of items needed for a fishing trip. Have the small groups share their lists and create a comprehensive list.

Safety:

Ask the group what they might need in case of a mishap or illness. Show students a first aid kit and discuss the items included and possible uses for each. Discuss basic safety guidelines included in the Background Information. (Online resource: Take Me Fishing | Fishing Safety Tips).

First Aid:

Have students assemble a basic first aid kit for use on fishing outings. See the Fish Iowa! Basic First Aid handout. (Online resource:Take Me Fishing | Fishing First Aid).

Clothing and Dress:

What sorts of clothing items (if any) were included in their list? Bring in different clothes and have students sort through and divide them into appropriate types of dress for fishing. Keep in mind fishing in any weather. Discuss the items they selected and why. (See the Dressing for the Outdoors handout.)

Water Safety:

Do some Water Safety Activities.
Incorporate the Iowa online boating safety course.
Check out additional online resources: Take Me Fishing | Fishing Safety and Take Me Fishing | Fishing Safety Equipment and Gear
Complete the Basic Safety Review Sheet.

Teaching Resources

History of Fishing

History of Fishing Review Sheet

Where to Fish

Fisheries Management

Complete the Fisheries Management Review Sheet.
Check out activities from Aquatic WILD related to resource management and issues:

How Wet is Our Planet?
Watershed
What’s in the Water
Something’s Fishy Here
Fishable Waters
To Dam or Not to Dam
Silt: A Dirty Word
Dam Design
Gone Fishing
Dragonfly Pond

Fishing Regulations

Preparation and Safety

Extensions

Social Sciences

Geography

Using Iowa maps and Iowa DNR | Where to Fish, locate various types of aquatic habitats in your county, region, or the state. Discuss geological landscapes where these waters are found and how they influence the water bodies.
Construct an Iowa map and label major rivers, constructed lakes, and natural lakes. Use a lake depth map to determine likely fishing spots in a nearby lake. (Locate depth maps on the DNR Fishing Atlas.)

Economics

Use reality shows on commercial fishing and/or online resources to compare and contrast recreational versus commercial fishing. Research the idea of scarcity in fishing as well as everyday life. Discuss the risk/reward in safe versus un-safe fishing. Find online video examples.
In groups make charts or graphs showing where the money from fishing license sales and equipment sales goes.

History

Find articles that discuss fishing from old magazines such as Iowa Outdoors or interview students’ parents or grandparents about fishing in the past. Discuss.
Contact tackle collectors for information (and a possible presentation) about the history of lures, lines, and reels.
Research conservation issues that lead to catch limits, regulations on fishing methods, etc.

Language Arts

Write fishing stories about fishing experiences.
Keep a daily log of class activities, trips, assignments, etc.
Pose ethical questions and respond in writing and/or discuss.
Build a library of fishing information.
Develop simple, one-line definitions for unfamiliar terms using the glossary, a dictionary, or other resources.
Make up daily or weekly “quotable quotes.”
Develop lists of different types of fishing waters in your area and/or lists of fish that might be located in different areas of a body of water.
Discuss terms with special spelling rules (e.g., fish spelled the same as a singular or plural).
Use vocabulary terms from the Narrative in a spelling test.
Make promotional posters for Fish Iowa!, catch and release, water safety, ethical conduct, etc.

Mathematics

Graph the fish caught using each type of bait or the number of fish caught per hour of angling effort for each student. Discuss why some baits or anglers are more effective. [See also the Aquatic WILD activity, “Gone Fishing.”]
Using resources such as the fisheries pages on the DNR website, create a timeline of the species of fish in Iowa including when certain species disappeared from the state, when others were introduced (e.g., rainbow and brown trout, common carp), and when fishing regulations were initiated.
Incorporate fish-related problems into primary math and problem solving.
Take two one-gallon jugs of water from a local river, one during low flow and one during high flow. Let the water evaporate and weigh the soil in each. Check the nearest U.S. Geological Survey gauging station to find out the discharge (volume of water) for the river during high flow and low flow. Figure out how many tons of sediment it carries during these times.

Science

Include a discussion about environmental issues such as the introduction of exotics, siltation, etc.
Discuss the importance of food, shelter, oxygen, and water clarity as part of fish habitat.
Test water from a local body of water. Discuss water quality and research the effect of water quality on fish populations.

The Arts

Draw a picture or create an art form depicting your favorite fishing trip.
Make promotional posters for Fish Iowa!, catch and release, water safety, ethical conduct, etc.
Make a collage of fishing pictures from old magazines.
Design a name and logo for your fishing group.
Make a fishing scrap book and keep it throughout the unit.
Draw an imaginary aquatic creature with adaptations to get food and oxygen, for protection, and to move around. (See the Aquatic WILD activity, “Fashion a Fish.”)

Fish Iowa! (class) order form: Fish Iowa! trained educators - Submit to order materials such as posters and cards for your Fish Iowa! unit.

Aquatic WILD guides are available via training. Check out the Iowa Project WILD training site for more information.