Gone fishing, back at belltime

By KATHERINE HOBY

Take a Kid Fishing is back - and hoping to reel in a new generation of fishing enthusiasts.

The programme, which was huge in the 1980s, has a new sponsor and is back with a vengeance. Its aim is to get kids off the sofa and into the great outdoors.

Twenty children from Pt England School in Glen Innes were some of the first to cast a line. Some had never been on a boat; others had never caught a fish or handled fishing gear.

Keen fishermen and North Harbour rugby players Glen Osborne, Blair Urlich and Frano Botica came along to pitch in. They helped kids bait hooks, cast lines - and disentangle them.

Osborne admitted that fishing for snapper and kahawai had not been a part of his childhood.

"We weren't too close to the beach and didn't have a lot of fancy gear," he said.

"I'm most used to catching eels. I never caught fish as a kid but you can't beat a good feed of eel."

Any activity that got children outdoors was worthwhile, said Osborne.

"The best thing is seeing kids get out there," he said. "Best outdoors terrain in the world - very good for kids to grow up on a diet of fresh air."

The pupils seemed ecstatic to be on the Kawau Kat as it powered out towards Rangitoto.

There was much giggling and squealing as hooks were baited with baby squid and lowered into the water.

Hungry seagulls kept a vigil overhead as the excited, chattering young fishers swapped technique tips below.

For a while it seemed the fish were not going to bite. Then, to a great round of gasps and applause, the first fish, a small kahawai, was hauled in.

A slightly bigger kahawai and a trevally followed but the prize catch was surely a large purple octopus.

"Gross, it ate its baby," one first-time fisherwoman squealed, pointing to the tentacled mini squid in the bait cooler.

A reasonable size snapper also succumbed to the hook.

Take a Kid Fishing was run successfully in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It faltered in 1992 when a major sponsor could not be found.

One of New Zealand's largest commercial fishing companies, Sanford, is the new sponsor and has signed for three years.

An advertising campaign next month will aim to encourage kids and families out onto the rivers, lakes, and sea to try their hand at one of the country's favourite sports.

The Sports Industry Association will be promoting Take a Kid Fishing events around the country.

Chief executive John Cornaga says the campaign is a "warm, fuzzy community" one.

"We want to help get kids out there and encourage them to appreciate and enjoy what we have in this country," he said.

Mr Cornaga said fishing was a fun and affordable family sport.

"When you consider how much a PlayStation costs, fishing is very much affordable. It's also very satisfying for kids to catch their own fish."

The kids from Pt England School certainly agree. Those who made catches were instant heroes.

"What a big one," one bright-eyed amateur fisherman said, not a little enviously, as the prize snapper was hauled in.

Advice was also handed out on how to respect the environment, what size qualifies as a legal catch and how to release a fish.

If the aim of Take a Kid Fishing was to make converts out of the Pt England School students, it succeeded.

Several discussions on whose dad could take a small team fishing this weekend were overheard as the kids left the boat.

Some were certainly confident.

"What do you think?" a teacher asked one of his charges. "The one that got away still down there?"

"Yeah," he replied, turning back to the boat, pointing both fingers Arnold Schwarzenegger-style at the water: "I'll be back."