The Youth Fishing Club, started last September by the Jasper County Conservation Department, just celebrated its first anniversary with a banquet at the Newton Izaak Walton League. Jasper County Conservation Department Naturalist Greg Oldsen helped start the Youth Fishing Club after pitching the idea a couple of years ago to a group of kids who were avid fishermen while on a camping trip to the Upper Iowa River in northeast Iowa.

“They were really excited and thought that was a good thing to pursue. So we reached out to the schools and some of the kids who had been involved with our camps and set up a meeting. At the first meeting, over 30 kids showed up. So we started the club from there, and have been growing ever since.” 

Oldsen says nearly 20 club members caught their biggest fish this season, and one member caught his first fish ever at a Fishing Club event. At the recent banquet, three club members were awarded a plaque and a guided fishing trip for winning the Angler of the Year for their age group. Since April, the fishing club has held five fishing tournaments throughout the county, awarding points at each event. Those points determined the Angler of the Year. The winners were Macy Meyer in the Super Junior age category, and Maddox Bartlett in the Junior and Tyrell Klein in the High School categories.