The NJDEP Division of Fish and Wildlife needs volunteers to teach children about fishing at the Pequest Trout Hatchery and Natural Resource Education Center.
Experience is helpful but not required to become a fishing education instructor. However, enthusiasm, energy and the desire to teach children proper fishing techniques and ethics are a must!
Classes run Monday through Friday from April through October and instructors can volunteer at times which suit their schedules. Interested applicants must be a Wildlife Conservation Corps (WCC) volunteer. Download a WCC application from the division’s website at: http://www.njfishandwildlife.com/wcchome.htm .
A training session for interested applicants will be held at the Pequest Trout Hatchery on Wednesday, April 11 from 8:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
If you are interested in participating, please contact Jessica Griglak at Jessica.Griglak@dep.state.nj.us or by phone at 908-637-4125.
While at the NJ Fly Fishing Show in Somerset NJ this year I purchased an unassuming DVD from an unassuming booth near the entryway. The DVD is called Discovery and is volume one in filmmaker/fly fisherman Wendell Ozefovich’s (Ozzie) four part lecture program entitled, The Underwater World of Trout.
Discovery
In this unique video you will be taken into The Underwater World of Trout. The view under the stream is not as bucolic and stable as you have come to believe. A stream is alive, not just with trout and insects, but with minnows, crayfish, and a varied mix of living things. What looks like crystal clear water is chock full of sticks, leaves, bubbles and larvae. This exploration of a trout’s world, from under the surface, opens your eyes to a new appreciation of trout and their living world.
There are no staged aquarium shots; these trout are in their natural environment. There is also footage of sea-run rainbow and brown trout. There are wild fish and stocked fish, fighting fish and spawning fish. You will see beneath the surface as trout feed on drifting invertebrates and surface flies, and how a trout views an angler through its window.
There is a segment on electrofishing and stream bank restoration, which will show that anglers, together with private conservation organizations and government agencies, can work together toward a common goal. This is one of the few presentations that almost everyone from rank beginner to crusty old cuss walks away having learned something!
My four year old son and I watched the 52 minute DVD together and we both enjoyed it immensely. I have watched the video half a dozen times since, watching and learning each time. Ozzie’s narration is clear and well structured for learning. The underwater footage alone confirmed and refuted several assumptions I had made about what was going on under the water.
I have an upcoming interview with Ozzie about him and his work on these videos. If you’d like to ask him a question please post it below, on our Facebook page, Twitter, or email.
About Ozzie
Ozzie has been filming and videotaping for more than four decades, so he has the skill and equipment to produce a quality experience. He is an accomplished fly fisherman who looks at a river not just as an angler, but also as a filmmaker. He asks the same questions you do—sometimes finding answers, sometimes finding more questions to ask. visit his website at www.UnderwaterOz.com
