Whenever I eat out, the featured salmon dish on the menu always catches my eye. And, as a picky eater when it comes to meat (it’s a texture thing), I cannot say how thankful I am that I “ventured out” and tried salmon when I did – because I have fallen in love with it. It’s almost addictive, and you can be pretty sure it’s always going to be good. This trust and intrigue has exposed me to many new flavors and combinations I wouldn’t have previously thought to be appealing.

Of all my childhood experiences, waking up before sunrise to go fishing with my grandfather still holds a vivid place in my memory. My grandparents would pick me up from my house and take me up to Chetek, WI to go fishing for a week-long trip. We would stay at a humble fishing resort and I would share a pull out bed with my cousins who lay sleeping soundly while I quietly rose and put on warm clothes to go out alone on the boat with my grandpa. I always wanted to fish for northern pike or some other monstrous fish, and my grandpa would humor me and let me just keep casting over and over until I grew bored, then gently encourage me to throw a hook and bobber in and try for crappie instead. Of course, pan-fishing was much easier for me as a child, and I would delight in pulling in dozens of smaller but easier to catch fish. We always ended our week with a huge fish fry, and he would proudly tell everyone that I supplied the most fish for the fry, if not the biggest.

Famous Wisconsin conservationist, Aldo Leopold was a hunter and fisherman. Not only did these activities provide him with food, they also connected him deeply to the land. In “The Sand County Almanac” he described how draining and channelizing along the Mississippi River wetlands aimed to bring economic growth to the area, but instead left his boyhood marsh “impoverished.” While some may consider fishing a controversial activity, we at the Urban Ecology Center understand that with proper guidance, it can launch a life-long commitment to protecting our local freshwater systems.

One of my very first memories, from when I was three or four years old, was of me fishing with my dad. He had taken me camping up in the Chequamegon-Nicolet national forest. I remember only bits and pieces of riding in the truck, sleeping in a tent, and sitting around a campfire. But being out on a lake in the boat, that I remember quite vividly.

Fishing with children is an activity that will never go out of style. There is nothing like the adrenaline rush you get when there is a fish on your line and you are wrestling to reel him in. Once that fish is out of the water flipping and spinning at the end of your pole you feel like a true fisherman. It is definitely an accomplishment. I feel this way because I have seen the look of achievement on so many faces after catching a fish. Once you get past the initial "yuck" and "no ways" when hooking worms, you see a light turn on inside of them as they realize this sport can actually be fun... until you have to take the hook out of the mouth of the fish- then there will be more expressions about how gross it is. This can sometimes be entertaining for the adult sharing in this experience.

The Lagoon at Washington Park is an awesome body of water. Not only is it the habitat for several thrilling creatures, the Lagoon is also a hot spot for recreation throughout the year.  The Equipment Lending Benefit at the Urban Ecology Center can help you participate in several of these activities. You can drill through the ice with an auger to go ice fishing in the winter or catch a settling breeze while canoeing from shore to shore of the Lagoon in the summertime. If you are a member, each and every piece of equipment is available to you from the Urban Ecology Center.