Hooked on Fishing, Not on Drugs

The 150 children participating in today's Hooked on Fishing, Not on Drugs program this morning are enjoying the cool confines of the Virginia Beach Police Academy where they are attending seminars on safety, fish identification, conservation, knot tying, lures and more.

The event has been run every year in one form or another since Dr. James C. Wright started casting tournaments in 1990. Now, oranizations like DARE, the Virginia Beach Sheriff's Department, the Virginia Beach Bluewater Fishing Club and the Virginia Beach Billfish Foundation are continuing the effort to teach kids about the evils of drugs and the joys on angling.

Once class is over, the young anglers will enjoy a lunch of sub sandwiches, then head to the Virginia Beach Fishing Center to get on one of three head boats for an afternoon of angling. They try to put to test the lessons they learn as they bottom bounce for whatever's down on the bottom off the Virginia Beach Oceanfront. They can expect some croaker, maybe a flounder or two, some dogfish sharks, and the surprises that always get cranked up from the deep on this very special day.

A cookout and awards ceremony will follow, and each child will be given a rod and reel combo, and a tackle box - all in hopes of getting them started on a future filled with fishing adventures.

Staff photographer/videographer Steve Earley and I will be on board one of the boards this afternoon to document the fishing trip.

So make sure to check out Wednesday's Virginian-Pilot to see how things went.

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