By Staff
KETCHUM, Okla. -- When you go fishing with kids, you need more than fishing tackle. For safety's sake, you've got to bring the right attitude – Safety Comes First as well as the right stuff.
That's the advice from Hooked on Fishing International (HOFI), producers of the Wal-Mart Kids All-American Fishing Derby. This year, its 17th, the Wal-Mart Kids All-American Fishing Derby program, along with the help of thousands of local volunteers, will take 300,000 kids fishing on lakes and ponds in all 50 states.
Here's the Safety-Comes-First checklist that HOFI has developed to guide the adult volunteers who supervise all those children (some as young as 5) in more than 1,800 fishing events held at the water's edge.
Avoid fishing in the middle of the day. Cover face, neck, ears, the back of hands and all exposed skin with sunscreen with a sun protection factor of 15 or higher. Apply chap protection wax on lips.
HOFI teaches Safety Comes First to the organizations and adult volunteers that do the hard work of staging 1,800 fishing events every year.
Organizations interested in hosting a youth fishing event can learn more about the program and even register on the web site, www.kids-fishing.com.
Groups receive a free kit with the items needed to put on a local derby, including event promotion tools, a how-to handbook, name badges, prizes and goodies for each derby participant.