Learn to Fish While Camping This Summer in British Columbia

Learning to Fish. Photo: Justine Russo

The Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC has been introducing anglers to fresh water fishing through the Learn to Fish program since 2006. Over 800 programs will be delivered this year at more than 80 different locations across the province. Many of these introductory lessons will be delivered as a two hour program at a lake location, for children ages 5-15 with an accompanying adult.

The Learn to Fish program is a hands on, interactive program where participants will learn the basics of freshwater fishing including:

Having Fun Fishing. Photo: Justine Russo

• How to identify different species of fish in BC
• How to rig a fishing rod and what tackle to use
• How to cast a fishing rod
• How to properly and safely handle a fish
• The ethics and regulations of fresh water fishing

The second half of the program is hands on fishing at the lake with all the gear and tackle provided.  Programs run rain or shine so make sure you’re dressed for the weather.

Learn to Fish is offered throughout the province thanks to the generous support of the Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation, Columbia Basin Trust, Rapala, Yamaha Motor Canada, BC Ram Dealers, Teck Highland Valley Copper, the Province of BC and BC Parks.

I Caught One! Photo: Justine Russo

To find out if the Learn to Fish program will be hosted near your favourite summer camping site visit the events calendar. Programs are continuously added through the summer so keeping checking back.

The Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC stocks over 8 million fish into about 800 lakes across BC. When planning your camping trips this summer knowing what lakes are stocked may help you decide on where you should go. To get a map of BC’s stocked lakes and the stocking reports visit the Where to Fish Map. Don’t forget if you are 16 years or older you need a licence to fish fresh water in BC. You can also read the handy How to Fish section of the website.

For places to camp visit Camping & RVing in BC which also shows lakes that are stocked with fish.