Committees & Volunteers

Volunteers can help successfully produce a safe and fun experience for your event. There are several areas of the event in which volunteers can assist. These areas are typically:

Event Site
Parking
Registration
Fishing License
Food/Beverage
Event Publicity
Prizes/Donations
Goodie Bag Assembly and Fishing Event Materials Preparation
Additional Activities (casting contests, craft activity, clinics, etc.)
Emergency Support (EMTs, law enforcement, fish and game personnel)
Bait Station & Fishing Assistance
Fish Weigh-in *Many events are non-competitive and do not weigh in fish. These events typically have participation prizes or do a raffle drawing for prizes.
Post Event and Clean-up

Event Site

Be sure to pick a site that is manageable and where multiple folks can fish from the shore or from fishing piers. Keep in mind that your fishing locations should provide for at least limited accessibility if there are participants that have mobility issues.
Many sites are managed by a concessionaire or contractor so be sure and discuss any agreements or amendments to agreements that might need to change. Sites that have concessionaires or contract hosts typically are handled by the recreation planner on your district. Be sure to discuss with them.
Does your site have restroom facilities? If not, you will need to order at least two portable toilets from a local source that can deliver, clean, and pick up after the event.
Order hand washing stations too. This is critical in preventing the spread of disease especially if you plan to have food & drinks available.

Parking

Assure there is adequate parking for your participants including parking spots for accessibility parking. If you do not have sites for accessibility parking (i.e. it conflicts with the ability of EMS to be on site) allow folks to drop off participants with accessibility needs and park off-site. Persons who are not Government employees cannot be carried in Government vehicles except in emergencies— and then only after contacting your local dispatch office, supervisor, or 911 operator. Provide complete information on the nature of the emergency. In most cases of injury or illness, it is safer for all concerned if you administer first aid and wait for proper medical assistance to arrive. There are some limited exceptions; these must be approved in advance at the regional forester or station director level (WO letter 6570, December 14, 2009).

Registration

Registration is useful in documenting participation of your event. You may find that many of your participants come from one small portion of the geographic area you cover so you may need to focus on advertising your event in those underserved or least represented communities. You will also need a liability release for your event. This liability release could say “As a parent or guardian of above named child, I certify that said child has my permission to attend and participate in the above mentioned Kids Fishing Derby, held on the above date, time and location. In signing this form, I hereby waive and release all other participants, the host, sponsors, and all other parties involved in the fishing event from all claims or damage in connection with this Fishing Event. I also hereby grant the sponsor and co-sponsor the unconditional right to use the name, voice and photographic likeness of the child in connection with any of their audio/voice productions, articles, or press releases, but not as an endorsement.”

Many states have fishing event registration forms so check with your state fish and wildlife agency to see if they already have a registration form you could use if they are partnering for the event.

Example fishing event registration form (129.99 KB)

Fishing License

Adults that fish in any fishing event must purchase a state fishing license. Fishing licenses can be easily purchased online.

Children under 16 generally do not need a license if they are fishing with a licensed adults.

Some states have “free fishing weekends” where no fishing license is required. Check with the state where you are located for this information.

Food/Beverage

Be sure to let your participants know through any press releases or information (flyers) posted about your event whether or not you will have food provided. Since the USFS cannot use funds to purchase refreshments this is a great area to have volunteers, partners or cooperators provide.

Event Publicity

Prizes and Donations

We are not allowed to solicit for donations for any event however, many of our partners do a great job getting the businesses and clubs in the community involved. Rely heavily on partnerships and volunteers to seek out how the community can get better involved in the event. Fishing equipment for the events can be purchased by the home unit but often fishing clubs and conservation groups donate gear and items for goodie bags.

Goodie Bag Assembly/Fishing Event Preparation

Many times, we use Smokey Bear and district education materials to put into bags for the participants but seek items from partners as well. We have gotten great education materials from both our state fish and wildlife agencies and from conservation groups. These items have included things like fish identification guides, outdoor scavenger hunts, safety whistles, pins and more. These bags are a great way to share information about our agency and our partners. All of this can be put together using volunteers.

Additional Activities

There are many ways to engage families, children and participants before, during or after your event. Here are some great examples of art, educational, wildlife and fish programs, films and more:

Emergency Support (EMTs, law enforcement, fish and game personnel)

Especially in remote areas be sure to contact your local EMS station to see if they can provide an emergency vehicle staffed with a EMT, first responder or paramedic. If they are unable be sure they know about the scheduling of your event. Also let them know they can partner with you for the event and you can include them as a partner on any media, advertisements, press releases or even t-shirts (also cannot be bought with USFS funding).

Bait Stations & Fishing Assistance

Have your local fishing club set up a bait and fishing assistance station. Not all people that come to your event will have fishing experience. Having some local fishermen help with getting started and providing bait is a great way to engage with the public. Many clubs are excited to share knowledge of the area and teach children and adults techniques to get started. They also have local knowledge that just might catch them a fish! Often clubs can get bait donated. Be sure to have a few different types of bait available for the best chance at success.

Fish Weigh-In

If you do decide to make the event more like a tournament be prepared to have a consistent weigh-in station that has very clear procedures outlined for weighing/ measuring fish. Have a set of scales that will be used and be sure they work prior to your event. Also, have a back up in case your scales quit working. Many events determined that having a non-competitive raffle for prizes was the best option for minimizing controversy among participants. This is achieved by issuing a number to participants at check in and then (at a pre-determined and advertised time) having a random drawing. Another option is to just offer a prize at registration. For example, “the first 50 participants will receive a fishing pole.”

Post Event Checklist

Thank your volunteers, partners and sponsors; write participation letters, check site resource damage post-event; State Lifetime fishing license or prizes to enter.