Five second grade Wolf cub scouts plus several family members had a lesson in fishing on Saturday (May 16) at Indian Well State Park in Shelton.
Life-long fishing enthusiast Brian Delventhal and his two sons, Adam Delventhal and Jered Delventhal, were asked by the den to help the scouts learn casting, worm hooking, how to reel in a fish and how to choose the best spots to find fish.
“We would have been doomed if they weren’t there to help us,” said scout Lucas Kellogg.
Adam Delventhal is a Science and Environmental Engineering major at Eastern Connecticut State University and said he “loved having the opportunity to pay it forward and teach fishing to the scouts like my Dad has taught me how to fish through the years. Fishing instills a greater appreciation for the environment that we live in.”
“I fished here when I was a kid with my family over 35 years ago.” said Brian Delventhal. “The catch hasn’t changed much. Today we caught bass, pike and sunfish.
“Over 40 fish were caught in total but there were many that were too small to keep today,” said Brian Delventhal. “The biggest was a large mouth bass caught by scout Maximus Cartolano and amazingly it was the first fish he ever caught.”
Everyone caught a fish except for Lily Piekarski.
“It is called fishing, not catching,” said her father Greg Piekarski. “Sometimes you just don’t catch any fish, but maybe next time you will be the only one to catch any.”
After this expedition the scouts have now completed the requirements to receive their cub scout Fishing belt buckle. They also earned the special Boy Scouts of America World Conservation award that took them nine months to complete.
Jered Delventhal, high school senior said, “it was a successful fishing day because nearly everyone caught a fish and they all seemed to have a lot of fun. That’s what makes a great fishing day!”
The scouts are all part of pack 28 in Shelton. The pack meets monthly at Mohegan School on Friday nights. For anyone interested in joining scouts, please call 203 – 929-1076 or email at [email protected].
