BY KAREN ROBERTS
FOR PASCACK PRESS
EMERSON—School may be out, but fishing is in. At least for the Emerson Fishing Club. These middle school students visited the Oradell Reservoir recently to try their luck at catching a big one.
“I love to fish,” says seventh grader Dylan Miskovitz. It was his first time at this reservoir doing what he loves and he says it’s even better than video games.
“My grandpa was a very big fisherman and I went camping with him once and I caught my first ever fish in a little bay. From then on I loved it. During quarantine my friends were fishing and I thought why don’t I get in on it and I just started loving it even more.”
Veolia welcomed the young anglers, providing fishing poles and lessons—along with some hints to the best fishing spots along Veolia’s reservoirs.
This is the first year for the club, which started when educators and parents joined together to support the program. “I was lucky enough to get the fishing club here at Emerson,” says Club Advisor Bill Bliss. “ We’ve been trying to start a fishing club for the last five years.”
Students practice baiting hooks, casting their rods and waiting patiently for a nibble. The group visited the Oradell Reservoir twice recently as part of Veolia’s Watershed Education Program.
“This is the first time we hosted this fishing club and it was a great success,” says Andrea Potto, who coordinates programs for students at Veolia. “It’s so important that the students get to experience the ecosystem, enjoy nature and actually spend time with the water.”
The club attracted students like Logan Manning, who caught a largemouth bass. “I fish a lot with my parents and my cousins,” he says. “Ever since I was 6 years old. I wanted to do that with my friends as part of this club.”
“The club is open to everyone,” Bliss says. “We have a couple kids that haven’t done a lot of fishing and a few are very involved. They are all pretty good. You don’t have to be that good at fishing to enjoy it. Just be outside.”
On one recent day, the students caught seven fish, including largemouth bass, perch and catfish. They left with Veolia fish-shaped drawstring backpacks and special memories. Advisor Bliss sees field trips like this as a win-win for students.
“They get to enjoy nature, and have a respect for the environment and learn the importance of the watershed,” he says. “The other part is having a good social experience outside the digital world.”
Potto adds, “I would definitely encourage more schools to come and do a fishing event with us.”
To set up your own school visit, contact Andrea Potto at andrea.potto@veolia.com. For more photos from this event, check out the PDF edition of Pascack Press for July 1, 2024.
Karen Roberts is a communications specialist, New Jersey operations, Veolia North America.