By Carol Stiffler
Germfask resident Joe Smith is a man on a mission. He wants kids to learn how to fish. Period.
He comes by it naturally. Smith got his first fly fishing rod when he was 10 years old, and he fished with his father and grandfather. He caught a 12-inch bluegill in 1961 and had his picture printed in the Kalamazoo Gazette.
He collected fly fishing rods after that and fished in northern and lower Michigan.
“I went all the time,” he said. “I was blessed with growing up that way.”
Smith was born and raised on a farm near Kalamazoo, but left to work as a machinist when he was old enough. Smith was an automotive machinist for 34 years; he was also a firefighter for 28 years and a medic for 26 years, managing all roles at one time. He also helped raise four daughters, and yes, he taught them all to fish.
And, of course, he fished as well. He can rattle off his personal-best catches without straining: that 12-inch bluegill. An 11-inch sunfish. An 11.5-inch rock bass. A 36-inch pike, and a 24-inch large mouth bass.
His fishing strategy varies based on location. Fishing on his home lake is a job for five poles of various types. Fishing in Grand Marais, with a greater variety of fish, needs eight specific poles. Now in retirement, Smith still drops his line into the water often, usually releasing what he catches. But he’s also scanning the riverbanks and lakeshores for youth who could be fishing. He has been running a volunteer-based Project Fish, an organization aimed solely at putting fishing poles in the hands of young people and teaching them how to fish. Smith volunteers at the Seney National Wildlife Refuge and passes out a lot of fishing rods there.
“It’s an outdoor activity with a lack of screen time,” he said. “It’s back to nature with them to learn everything in the environment.”
Smith purchases fishing poles with his own money and donations and keeps some in his vehicle in case he spots a kid near water without a pole. He has given away hundreds of fishing poles in the U.P. and hundreds more in lower Michigan.
Smith is well-known in the local fishing community, and he is trying to grow Project Fish by adding volunteers to help kids start fishing. And he requests parents tag along; Smith won’t take kids alone.
“The parent has to be there,” he said.
He particularly appreciates the opportunity to teach parents how to teach their kids to fish. Smith teaches them to fish respectfully.
“Always respect the law,” he said. “The laws and rules of fishing. If you have any doubt, call.”
Smith will be back at it this spring, fishing local waters and teaching kids to fish. “I don’t hide nothing,” he said. “I like to fly fish with big poppers. A cork, painted all different colors, with feathers. It resembles an aquatic bug on the water.”
