By Tammy Parris
Swain County High School debuted their first-ever fishing club in September. The “Swainglers” are made up of ninth through twelfth graders. I agreed to sponsor the club when bus driver/teacher assistant, Pat Smiley suggested the club because she knew my love for fishing. Samantha McFalls, RN School Nurse, also loves to fish so she agreed to help me sponsor. Pat happily transports us to each fishing spot.
I can’t forget how we got the name Swainglers, our attendance officer, Sabrina Cable, came up with it. We fish during club time, which is a period after lunch, once a month. Due to such a short amount of fishing time (35-40 minutes), the club leaves at the beginning of lunch. We travel to a nearby fishing spot. In September we-sixteen students, ventured to Fontana Lake and fished from the bank at the 288 Boat Access, where my anglers reeled in several bass. Our October trip was spent fishing in the Tuskegee River where twenty-three students caught and released several trout. I had to limit the number of students due to supervision and transportation issues, although I had over ninety students show an interest in the club. Because of this, I had a random drawing to decide members. Our experienced anglers are a big help to the novice anglers. I wish I could take them all fishing, but for safety reasons, I can’t.
I strongly believe angling is an important recreational and educational activity for teenagers to get involved in. It promotes education through fishing by requiring club members to learn and abide by the North Carolina Wildlife regulations. By doing that, fish species can remain stable and continue to flourish. Over harvesting can cause many species to suffer. In addition, a healthy lifestyle can be obtained by being active outside.
Our future goals are to fish tournaments as members of SAF, Students Angler Federation. SAF offers many opportunities to earn prizes and college scholarships. We also, hopefully, plan to go on a full day fishing trip at the end of the school year. My anglers are a great, well-behaved, rule abiding group. They deserve a full day of fishing! We are blessed to live in Swain County where we have so many nearby creeks, rivers and Fontana Lake of which to take advantage. Ask an angler why they like to fish, and a common answer is stress relief, freedom, and enjoying the environment. That’s what I want for these kids, plus fishing is just fun! Besides, How many students can say that they went fishing during their school day?
Swainglers would welcome your support and words of encouragement.
Tammy H. Parris is an administrative Assistant as Swain County High School and Sponsor for the Swainglers fishing club. You can email her at tparris@swainmail.org if you have words of encouragement, insights for the club, or would like more information.