As Rod Carberry looks to transition out of his director role at Dauphin's Countryfest, his full focus will soon become fishing.
As Carberry has been instrumental in helping revive the Intermountain Sport Fishing Enhancement group, he's looking to help develop the next generation. With that, Anglers Education was born.
Over the past two years, Carberry has wanted to visit schools in Dauphin and educate the younger generation. What does Anglers ED look like?
Carberry and his crew ran their first-ever Anglers ED at MacKenzie Middle School in Dauphin. They welcomed the group and explained why they're doing what they are.
"We talked about it being peaceful, there is a providing factor, and the thrill of the chase. We talked about going through the motions," said Carberry. "Fishing can be very successful, and it can be very frustrating at times."
There were six grade seven classes. That's 136 students who gained knowledge and the basic know-how. Dawn Dutchak, the school's principal, wants this to be an annual occurrence for students.
"We think it went very well. We had a lot of interest," said Carberry. "I made contact with Bass Pro and took one of the buyers from a local division. She stepped up big time and provided us with crates and crates of samples from Bass Pro. We provided them to the kids."
The students all received baits, tackle, and the knowledge to own the water. As the Parkland is a hotbed for fishing in the province, Carberry hopes Anglers ED in Dauphin will have more kids wanting to be on the lake.
Fishing has long been a passion for Rod, and it's a big part of his life.
"I always enjoy launching my boat and seeing kids on the dock casting. That was me when I was a kid," commented Carberry. "I'm eager to get this going."
Carberry's ultimate vision is to create a competitive fishing league at the high school. Every year, more than 1,000 kids compete in the Manitoba High School Ice Fishing Championship. Last year, it featured 60 schools and 1,300 kids.
Carberry says he would love the DRCSS have a competitive league within it.
"This is kind of grassroots, and we want to develop it," ended Carberry. "Once we can get things underway, we hope to partner with the high school to develop this high school league."
If you ever have any fishing-related questions, you can get in touch with Rod here.
