Atchison fishing clinic teaches kids outdoor skills at state lake

Children ages 6 through 12 spent Saturday morning at Atchison State Fishing Lake learning how to fish in a free Gone Fishin’ clinic run by Kansas Wildlife & Parks, the Atchison Family YMCA/Cray Community Center and the Boy Scouts. The clinic ran from 8 a.m. until 1 p.m., and organizers provided lunch, fishing poles and bait, making the outing accessible for families that did not already have gear.

Kansas Wildlife & Parks says most fishing clinics are built for people with little or no experience, and the lessons can include fish identification, casting demonstrations, equipment use, water safety and even fish cooking. The department also says children do not need their own equipment, because rods, reels and other fishing gear may be supplied when available. That practical setup mattered in Atchison, where the event was designed less as a showcase and more as a hands-on introduction to a skill children can use again on their own time.

The Boy Scouts’ involvement fit the state agency’s angler-instructor model, which recognizes Boy Scouts of America certification. The Atchison Family YMCA/Cray Community Center brought a deeper local connection to the clinic, with the Y saying it has served Atchison since 1872. Together, the partners turned a Saturday at the lake into a low-cost outdoor lesson that mixed recreation with basic conservation and safety knowledge.

Atchison State Fishing Lake added its own local character to the program. Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks says the lake was built in 1957 as Hetherington Lake and covers about 66 acres, with roughly 182 acres of adjoining land. The area sits in the Independence Creek valley and is reached by about 2.5 miles of gravel road from K-7, a route that can be slick when wet. KDWP also notes that about 136 acres, plus the lake itself, are open to hunting, underscoring that this is a working outdoor space, not a city park pond.

The lake has also been under blue-green algae watch or warning advisories at times, a reminder that public water comes with ongoing health and environmental attention. Even so, Saturday’s clinic showed how Atchison County can use a familiar state lake, a long-standing community institution and state wildlife staff to give children an affordable way to learn outdoor skills close to home.