Fish with a Cop was started in the early 2000’s by a patrol officer wanting to get kids into fishing. The first event was held at Toisnot Park and was a huge success with dozens of kids participating and learning about the outdoors. The tradition continued with the event being held in early fall at the Pittman Farm located on Wiggins Mills Road. The Wilson Police Department partners with local businesses, non-profit organizations, and state agencies to sponsor the event. The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission helps sponsors the event by providing tackle boxes containing fishing tackle and coloring books about fishing. The police department provides a rod and reel to each participate so that any youth that attends goes home with enough fishing equipment to fish on their own.
The day starts out with a general water/hook safety briefing and the kids are partnered with a police officer. The goal is to have that “one on one” mentoring time between the officer and the youth. After fishing, the kids and officers share lunch together while discussing the day’s catch and other topics like cleaning their catch and preparing it for the table. At the end of the day, trophies are passed out for numerous categories such as largest fish, smallest fish, and most fish.
The purpose of the event is more than to have kids and officers interact with each other. Its about teaching kids the importance of the outdoors and the positive effects that the outdoors can have on a person. It also metaphorically teaches the youth that they can learn to provide for themselves. They can catch their own food, clean their own food, and prepare their own food. That type of accomplishment provides encouragement to a child who may not see themselves as successful.
Check our calendar out for the scheduled time of this event. If you are interested in registering your child for this camp go to our Registration page and print and fill out the Registration form, and review our concussion policy. After signing the registration you can mail it to: Wilson PAL C/O Courtney Jones, PO Box 10, Wilson, NC 27894, or hand deliver it to the Wilson Police Department for Courtney Jones.
Camp contact person: Major Steve Stroud, sstroud@wilsonnc.org, 252-399-2350
Registration questions?: Courtney Jones cjones@wilsonnc.org or 252-399-2318