DNR 'S Fin program makes fishing easy

Remember those glory days when you were a kid with a bike, a cheap Zebco and a can of nightcrawlers, and the world was your adventure - somewhere back between the ages of innocence and responsibility?
 

DNR’s Fishing in the Neighborhood (FiN) program wants to foster memories like that in today’s youth, by providing quality angling opportunities for kids and their families throughout the metro region. In the process, the program is keeping Minnesota’s traditions of fishing and resource stewardship alive and healthy.
 

Don’t have a boat to take the kids fishing? No problem. Don’t want to drive far? Don’t worry. This program is bringing the fishing to the people, by providing close-to-home shorefishing opportunities throughout the metro region.
 

FiN works with local parks departments and others to maintain a network of more than 60 public shore and pier fishing opportunities strategically scattered around the St. Paul/Minneapolis metroplex. They stock fish - bluegills, walleye, pike, bass and channel cats. They work on shoreline restorations. They help kids learn to fish, and teach them about aquatic biology. Sometimes the kids even leave with their own rod and reel, thanks to the efforts of generous partners.
 

“The metro region is home to more than half the state’s population,” said Ron Payer, who as head of DNR’s fisheries section helped launched FiN in 2001. “If we want to sustain public support for quality fisheries and healthy waters, we need to make sure there’s good fishing close to where those people live, and easy access to it.”
 

FiN also makes sure people know about the metro’s many nearby angling opportunities. The program just published a new booklet with maps and directions to its 62 FiN ponds, details on what people can catch where, and some basic fishing tips to help get the less-experienced started. A Spanish-language version is in the works as an effort to get the area’s growing Latino community more involved in fishing. The booklet and further information also is available online.
 

“I want people to know that fishing is easy, and it’s really fun,” said Rick Walsh, one of FiN’s program coordinators, and a father of four. “I can’t think of many activities that offer more opportunity for quality family time than fishing with your kids. If every family subtracted a few hours from their screen time to go fishing together, we’d all be a lot happier and healthier.”