Toting fishing poles and long green worms, a small group of Denton middle school students participated in a special fishing expedition Wednesday morning at South Lakes Park.

DRC/Barron Ludlum

Professional tournament fisherman Matt Hupp helps Strickland Middle School eighth-grader Josh Gonzales on Wednesday with his catch, a 14-ounce catfish, at South Lakes Park. During the “Learn to Fish — Fish for Life” program, participating Strickland and McMath Middle School students received angler training, which included knot tying, casting and fishing.

The Denton school district’s Adapted Physical Education Department, part of the district’s special education department, planned the “Learn to Fish — Fish for Life” program after receiving a nearly $1,000 grant from the Denton Public School Foundation.

Involving the life skills and social adjustment classes from Strickland and McMath middle schools, educators used the program to teach students about angling and the aquatic environment.

“There’s nothing like really catching a fish,” said Strickland special education teacher Lynette Friedemann.

The experience not only introduced students to a practical skill that they can carry into adulthood, but a social skill as well, which can help them relate and com­municate with other people, Friede­mann said.

Adapted Physical Education Services Supervisor Linda Hilgenbrinck and ad­ap­ted physical education teacher Linda Thibault helped coordinate the planning and training for the outing.

Hilgenbrinck said the program was meant to help expose students to their own communities. A similar grant last year allowed educators to take adapted classes bowling.

This year, adapted physical education teachers and administrators tried to think of some of the things they were first exposed to in their communities and de­cided on fishing, she said.

“Oftentimes, students with disabilities don’t have the same opportunities,” Hil­gen­brinck said.

The teachers received angler training from Steve Campbell, a Texas Parks and Wildlife Department aquatic education specialist.

“Nothing should stop anyone from fishing,” Campbell said.

The fishing trip lent itself well to lessons in science and ecology, safety and wildlife conservation, Campbell and oth­er teachers said.

“Any time you can put anything in a practical situation, the lesson tends to hold,” Campbell said.

Students had practiced casting in their school gyms and reviewed the proper way to reel in a catch, hold a fish and release it back into the water. Educators even prepared students for the occasional snake spotting, talking about why the snakes would not be a threat to fishermen and how they help the ecosystem.

Students talked about the different methods they used to bait fish, like McMath sixth-grader Ray Klimpel’s use of sweet corn to catch a 5 ounce catfish. Others said they enjoyed being outside around nature.

Not everyone caught a fish – and some that did exaggerated the size of their catches by more than a few inches – but students still expressed a great sense of patience with the sport and pride in their abilities.

“It’s fun,” said Strickland eighth-grader Dalton Howell. “I’m a fisherman.”

SARAH CHACKO can be reached at 940-566-6876. Her e-mail address is schacko@dentonrc.com .