In the 19 years Duke O’Malley has operated his “For Kids Only Free Fishing Derby,” he has seen things that warm his heart.
Like the kid who became friends with his dad by becoming a fishing partner.
Like the kids who gained confidence right before his eyes when they caught the first fish of their lives.
Why does he keep doing it? Why does the retired firefighter and local outdoors writer spend his free time in the winter fundraising?
“It’s because when you see the kids’ faces,” O’Malley said the other day after this year’s event at Centennial Park’s Lake Sedgwick in Orland Park.
More than 500 kids younger than 15 turned out on a sunny day, accompanied by moms, dads, sisters, brothers and friends. As always, it was a big party.
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O’Malley figures he’s doing his bit for family values and perpetuating a sport he loves.
The morning included more than just fishing time from shore. Every kid received a free cane pole, a cap and a goody bag with hooks, bobbers and books on fishing to further his education.
“Whatever I can beg, borrow and steal,” O’Malley said of the booty. “Nobody goes home empty-handed.”
Private, fishing-oriented companies donate some of the swag, and so does the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. O’Malley puts in a lot of time organizing, starting in January. What he hopes to do is not only offer a day of fun, but also stir interest in the outdoors.
“They’re learning something good,” he said. “A kid, when he’s fishing, never gets in trouble. They learn to respect the outdoors, nature and their parents. It’s just a win-win. So many kids these days are wound up in computers. Kindergarten kids get computers now.”
Not every fisherman has time to volunteer the way O’Malley does. Not every dad has as much time as he’d like to spend with his kids.
O’Malley’s kids fishing event has been a public service. Will a spark take hold in 100 of the kids, in 25 of them who were at Centennial Park last Saturday? Maybe just one child who enjoyed the experience will become a serious angler.
Outdoors philosophy long has held that if you want a child to fish, it is important to hook him early. Bob Long Jr., who operates Mayor Daley’s Fish ‘N Kids summer program, agrees with that philosophy but takes it a step further.
Long thinks it is critical to introduce youngsters to fishing when they are grammar-school age. He also believes that some sort of imprinting process takes place.
Once a child is shown the pleasures of the sport, Long says, he or she will always come back to it. Likewise, he says, children who don’t learn to fish by the age of 10 never will pick it up.
Between June 26 and Aug. 18, Long will supervise a program that will introduce 12,500 Chicago kids to fishing. Wherever you look, they will be fishing for bluegill, sunfish and other fish at the city’s lagoons.
“If you know any program in the country [in another big city] that comes close, I want to know about it,” Long said. “And 98 percent of them will catch at least one fish.”
Long, who is in his sixth year as supervisor, said the program was fully booked by May, and he had to turn away applicants.
“I’m very, very happy that this many kids are getting out,” he said.
Several years of dealing with youngsters have given Long insight into the approaches that work best for an age group that can have difficulty concentrating for long.
“Fishing time should be just about 45 minutes,” Long said. “I don’t want them to lose interest. You know, the girls are always better than the boys. If I tell them the fish are `at your feet,’ they drop the line. The boys try to cast across the pond.”
At O’Malley’s event, a 2-pound largemouth bass and a 2-pound catfish were caught. One child caught 39 fish. Big stuff for little kids.
It was a day of memory-making. O’Malley hopes those memories linger long into the future.
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