Field trip gives students exposure to lifetime sport

By Ryan Howard (Contact) | The Daily Journal

Published 11:02 a.m., March 2, 2010

Last Friday, fifth- and sixth-graders from Battle Lake Elementary School got a hands-on field trip and a fun reward when they went ice fishing on Molly Stark Lake in Glendalough State Park.

The Feb. 26 day was not too windy and not too cold, and the kids had a good time catching fish (mostly snagging panfish and northerns), throwing snow and running around on the ice.

However, the fishing trip wasn’t just a few hours off given by a couple of lenient teachers. On the contrary, in fact. These kids earned their trip.

This is the second year of the ice fishing excursion, which is the brainchild of fifth-grade teacher Eric Olson and sixth-grade teacher Bret Setterholm. Olson and Setterholm came up with the idea as a reward for when students finished the curriculum for MinnAqua, a recently created state DNR program designed to educate children about fishing recreation, lake ecology, aquatic stewardship and water safety.

The education seems to be sticking, as the students could volunteer plenty of things they learned about, from how to identify different species of fish to run-off prevention to, as Cameron Bratz said, “the life cycle of the northern pike.”

That retention is something that Olson and Setterholm couldn’t be happier about.

The first year the teachers taught the MinnAqua curriculum, both the fifth- and sixth-graders went through the program.

In this and the coming years, since the sixth graders will have gone through the curriculum the year before, only the fifth-graders will complete the curriculum, which Olson and Setterholm take turns teaching. Both grades, however, will still get to fish.

“There have been a lot of fish this year,” Setterholm said on Friday. That’s a good thing, as last year’s outing saw colder temperatures and only three fish the whole day. This time around, said Setterholm, “(The kids) are out enjoying the weather.”

Olson and Setterholm began looking at the project on the recommendation of an acquaintance. Since the Battle Lake area is home to numerous lakes and the school has easy access to Glendalough, MinnAqua seemed like a great program to implement. “Everything clicked,” said Setterholm.

It wouldn’t have clicked, however, without the work of Setterholm and Olson, who seemed to be almost universally liked by the happily fishing students. “They like the same things I do,” said fifth grader and outdoor sports lover Derrick Christensen, who spent much of his time staring into his fishing hole, hoping for a glimpse of his prey.

Many other students spoke fondly of the two men’s humor and approachability. “They’re really nice, and they’re funny,” sixth-grader Sarah Bailey said with a smile.

The outing itself also received the support of some interested businesses like Clam corporation and The Ice Team, who provided ice shelters, augers and other equipment.

Local volunteers got involved as well. Marshall Koep, who is a part of a local fishing business in the area, said tradition was his motivation for volunteering. “I just want to help out and keep kids fishing,” he said.

Kevin Winkler, owner of Winkler Outdoor Adventures, a guide service out of Browerville, was on hand to drill holes in the ice and take pictures of the kids.

He said it was important to him to get kids interested in the sport in an age of hurriedness, single-parent households and an easily distracted generation. “With some of these kids, it might be the first time, and hopefully not the last time, that they’ve enjoyed fishing,” he said.

The two teachers definitely agree. “It’s a sport of a lifetime,” Setterholm said.

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