Big Sandy Library's summer schedule of "Tales and Tails" events continued last week with an educational presentation from local speaker, Bob Nelson. Bob spoke on water, the freshwater habitat, safety, and outdoor recreation. He has a long history of teaching young people about fishing and Montana's lakes and waterways, having done this sort of presentation many times in the past as a representative of Walleye's Unlimited. "I've been fishing my whole life, but about 2000 is when Jim Rettig asked if I could serve on the Walleye Board with him, so I did. Before that, he always thought because I like computers that you can teach them (kids) electronics. For our education day for 5th and 6th graders, we do 5 twenty minute sessions. He would always have me do the electronics." Bob explained. He was particularly enthusiastic about the electronic elements of modern fishing. "The electronics, it's no different than any other sport. It is big. Fish finders and controlling all your motors electronically; it's unbelievable."
Bob planned to present a broad talk on the subject: "There's so much! I plan on starting with water, living things in the water, fish, we like to play in the water, we're gonna hit on safety with the life jackets and stuff. From there, we're going to go into the different kinds of fish. We've got a lot of fish, then start concentrating on catching them and how. I have all kinds of different poles and where they can get poles. Then, I'm going to zoom in on my methods. That's why I have my boat outside. We can go out and I'll say: 'Here's what I typically do when I fish.'"
The front of the room was adorned with a wide variety of photos, fishing paraphernalia, stuffed fish, and other educational aids, promising a rich experience for the young people in attendance. "I was very fortunate. I called Mark Kloker, he's the region seven Fish and Wildlife education guy. I got some stuff from him yesterday. But I stopped in Great Falls at Fish, Wildlife, and Parks and got that whole chest and all of these stuffed animals and pamphlets and temporary tattoos. They were very helpful." In addition to the materials he borrowed from FWP, Bob brought his own fishing boat and parked it behind the library so the kids could see and experience it firsthand.
When I asked if Bob typically used a fish finder, his lighthearted reply was: "Not A fish finder; I have a couple of them onboard. My stuff is now 8-years old. When I got it, I was head of the pack. Now people are getting stuff that is unbelievable. I have a 9 inch screen that looked huge. Now they have 11 and 12-inch screens. People are watching the bottom and the sides. They're just picking up information that really helps them fish."
Throughout the interview it seemed obvious that Bob has worked to further this sort of education out of a love for the sport of fishing and young people. He praised our region for its ample opportunities to enjoy fishing. In explaining his favorite part of fishing, Bob told me: "Just being able to get out and do it. This part of Montana, we have a lot of good fishing, excellent fishing. But we have our Montana weather, so it might be super cold for ice fishing. It might be windy. It might be super hot. But you have got to get out and get after it."
He explained his largest catches to date as we discussed the sport: "The biggest fish I ever caught is about a hundred pound paddle fish, down in Glendale. But my target is walleye. I love to walleye fish. I have caught about 3 of them over 10 pounds. Ten pounds is the goal." He prefers to eat walleye, though has an affinity for yellow perch. He also dines on Northern Pike often because: "I eat a lot of northern because northerns eat the walleye, so I keep a lot of them."
