Fishing Course Aims To Hook Brick Students On Outdoors

BRICK, NJ — Next year, while some students will spend their electives studying American Sign Language or Film Analysis or robotics, there is a new elective in the works: a course in fishing.

It's not simply about baiting hooks and trying to catch fish, however. Tim Brennan, a physical education teacher at Brick Memorial High School, who will be teaching the class, said the bigger goal is to get students interested in fishing and the outdoors — and ideally, an alternative to getting involved in drugs.

Titled Hooked On Fishing, Not On Drugs, it is modeled in part on a program in the state Division of Fish and Wildlife that has existed for a number of years that stresses getting kids involved with outdoors activities to help them develop a passion for them but also to help them build life skills as well as an appreciation for the environment.

The course at the high schools — it will be open to students at both high schools, according to the information Brennan shared — will be the first at any high school in New Jersey, he said.

Brennan posted about the class, which he said will be offered starting in September 2018, to seek donations of fishing rods, reels and other necessary fishing tackle for the students to use in the class.

"The only road bump we are facing is we will be self-funded and run solely based on monetary and physical donations," Brennan wrote.

The course will include a U.S. Coast Guard boating certification course, CPR training and collaboration with the district's marine biology, culinary and woodshop courses, Brennan said. Three days a week the students will study topics such as species migration, tying knots and first aid, and two days a week will be spent fishing at places such as the Manasquan Reservoir, Barnegat Bay and other spots, he said.

"This is something that I have been creating for four years and I am very excited to be launching it next year. We have such great natural resources in our backyard and we are going to take advantage of them," Brennan wrote.

If you have items you would like to donate to the program, Brennan can be contacted at tbrennan@brickschools.org.

"With all the negative stuff we see about schools today, this is something we can be proud of," he wrote.

This is the flyer he shared:

Photo by Karen Wall, Patch staff