Welcome to the WHS Club’s 3rd year. This club was started to promote and encourage the sport of fishing at WHS. We welcome anyone with an interest in fishing from beginners to the more experienced. Our club goals include: Provide social fishing opportunities Educate and develop angler skills Protect the environment and Have fun

THE PLAN We will try to have at least 2 meetings per month. Pending on the weather, we will try to schedule after school fishing outings to local water. Other potential activities include, but are not limited to: “how-to” clinics for making lures, casting, fly-fishing, fishing gear maintenance, etc Guest speakers from the Indiana DNR, local fishing shops, local guides, etc. Conservation service projects Club and state bass tournaments

RULES Students will follow the WHS Handbook policies during any club activity. Students will comply with all state and federal fishing laws and regulations. Students will practice fishing. Students 18 and older must have a valid Indiana fishing license Students that fail to adhere to these rules may be dismissed from WHS FISHING CLUB.

COMMUNICATION Sign up for WHS FISHING CLUB text messages by texting @whsfish to 81010 Watch the daily announcements for club meetings and information. Check out the WHS FISHING CLUB website for club information, useful fishing links, club calendar, etc. http://whs.wws.k12.in.us/fishingclub We will have a “class” in CANVAS to keep students/parents updated on events. Follow @whsfishing on Twitter for news, updates, and pics. Please include email addresses for students and parents on permission slips.

DUES and FEES Annual club dues will be $20 per person. This goes towards a club fishing gear and includes a t-shirt per person. The club has several /reel outfits plus a large tackle box that members will be able to use during outings. The club will also do its best to provide materials needed for making lures and other activities. Additionally, $2 will be charged per person per fishing outing anytime we use a white activity bus.

NATIONAL MEMBERSHIPS B.A.S.S and F.L.W. are two nationally recognized tournament fishing organizations that offer memberships at the high school and youth levels. Both memberships offer important benefits such as liability insurance, bass tournaments, discounts, and fishing education. Memberships are valid from Jan 1st to Dec 31st of each year and cost $20-25. All WHS

Fishing club members wanting to compete in bass tournaments are required to have a national membership. Recreational WHS Fishing club members are encouraged to have a national membership.

EQUIPMENT It is extremely important that students are aware of what type of gear is allowed and what is prohibited on school property. Please follow these guidelines when bringing fishing equipment to school. NO KNIVES ALLOWED Students may keep rods/reels/tackle box in their vehicle during the school day or drop it off in Mr. Bland’s room immediately upon arrival to school. You may not keep fishing gear in your locker. A tackle box with standard lures and hooks are allowed at school as long as it is stored with Mr. Bland Please keep the amount of gear, including how many rods/reels you bring to school at a minimum.

FISHING OPPORTUNITIES Local trips: We will offer fishing opportunities to local fishing spots throughout the year. Most of the time transportation will be on your own. Please make sure you read the permission form carefully. Generally, I will announce via email and texts when and where to meet, we’ll fish, then go home.

Bass Tournaments: We will compete in bass tournaments during the fall and spring. We are fortunate to have about 15 boat captains willing to volunteer their boat, time, and money to help us compete in tournaments. Unfortunately, not all of them can be available for every competition so we may be forced to limit how many students can compete. Here are some guidelines that will be followed: -Only students that are SAF or BASS members will be allowed to compete. -Students must have no “F” grades on the day of competition, and at most 2 D’s -Students must complete tasks involving (but not limited to) tying knots, casting, and bait/tackle knowledge. More information will be distributed soon.

Ice Fishing: Pending weather conditions, we will offer ice fishing trips. Only SAF members will be allowed. More details later.

Fly Fishing: We hope to partner with Orvis store and Wildcat Creek Outfitters to offer fly fishing opportunities.

DISCOUNT PROGRAMS: WHS fishing club members are eligible for discounts on many fishing products. Including, but not limited to: Abu Garcia, Berkley, Fenwick, Hardy, Hodgman, Johnson, Mitchell, PENN, Pflueger, Sebile, Shakespeare, Spiderwire, Stren, Rapala, VMC, Sufix, Storm, Luhr-Jensen, Trigger, Blue Fox, Terminator, Williamson, StrikeMaster, MarCum, Ice Force, Lews, and more