By Steve Chaconas

You can lead a child to water, but you can’t make them fish. Introducing youngsters to the outdoors is a road blocked by television, the internet, and video games. The key to opening the outdoors is education.

Leading a team of wildlife research biologists and educators providing programs at the District of Columbia Aquatic Resources Education Center (AREC), Teresa Rodriguez brings decades of fishing experience and program development. As Wildlife Management Branch Chief, Rodriguez oversees programs to expand outdoor and environmental education, recreation, and conservation. The AREC campus has an aquarium and is home to free programs to schools, community groups, and the public. There are lessons for pre-kindergarten through high school as well as requested customized lessons for colleges and adults. DC’s wildlife biologists create interactive lessons to educate AREC visitors about local aquatic wildlife and how to get involved in conserving these valuable resources.

Only a few can truly claim to promote the future of fishing. Rodriguez successfully passes the fishing rod to the next generation without bass fishing tournaments or flashy boats decked out with cubic feet of electronics. She executes a proven plan to introduce kids to the outdoors with AREC field trips for pre-K-12 grade students. Kids become fascinated with the unseen underwater world and how they are connected to it. Large well-lit aquariums display over 40 species of local fish, amphibians, reptiles, and aquatic plants. A children’s Discovery Room offers hands-on classroom lessons. Boat tour field trips encourage outdoors participation.

AREC staff then makes a handoff to teachers, providing them with knowledge and curriculum to continue to educate and excite the kids.  The AREC staff offers free professional development training workshops for teachers to lead wildlife and conservation activities in their schools. The curriculum was developed by Fish and Wildlife biologists to meet DC Public Schools (DCPS) next generation science standards. Rodriguez and her staff also work with teachers to develop customized lessons that meet the current science standards. AREC tours are a part of the lesson along with hands-on classroom or field trip activities.

Aquatic education and exposure to the outdoors lead to fishing. Rodriquez participated as a fishing instruction on several National Fishing Day events where she taught hundreds of kids to fish. She knows how to fish and, more importantly, how to teach kids to fish. School fishing field trips include a tour, a casting lesson and actual fishing. While many kids go through school programs, most of the fishing occurs during free Fishing in the District community fishing events, open to all ages. All equipment and bait are provided. Expert instructors are on hand to teach beginner anglers everything they need to know to catch their first fish. Instructors are experienced anglers who truly enjoy initiating kids into the lifetime sport of fishing. Not widely known are the many fishing opportunities in several different areas of the District including Anacostia Park, Diamond Teague Park, the Tidal Basin, Haines Point, Fletchers Cove, and Kingman and Heritage Islands.

These programs have evolved over the past 14 years. This includes renovations to AREC exhibit rooms and additional exhibits. Advanced lessons in watersheds, river wildlife, food webs, human impacts, and pollution prevention and conservation have been created. This allows schools to advance their curriculums to reflect DCPS science standards for each grade goal. Constantly seeking new ways to invite kids into the outdoors, Department of Energy & Environment (DOEE) biologists have incorporated Wildlife Forever’s State Fish Art Contest into the curriculum. Over the last 3 years, this art project has provided a fun opportunity for youth to learn about fish as staff provide fish anatomy lessons and then practice drawing fish.

The programs at AREC connect youth with the natural resources in their community while teaching them about the watersheds in the District and that they merge in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. The connection is established that human activities affect the plants and animals living in this watershed. This includes native, non-native, and invasive species. Partnering with Maryland DNR, the Reel Invasion Fishing Tournament during National Fishing and Boating Week increased awareness of invasive species such as blue catfish, flathead catfish, and Northern Snakeheads and their effect on watersheds.  They take the show on the road as a stocked fishing trailer from the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation allows them to conduct fishing clinics across the District.

There’s more to DC than monuments and AREC will continue to grow to reach even more residents with programs and activities. The 4 AREC staffers attend local outreach events to partner and collaborate with other DOEE colleagues as they reach thousands of students and visitors each year. The program has grown from 800-1000 students reached in 2012 to over 8,000 in 2025.

Fishing trips begin with a single cast and an educational step. The AREC programs hook kids up with fishing, but more importantly with a connection to the outdoors. Anyone in the DC Metro area can register for a free program but transportation is limited and only provided for DCPS schools.  Check out their current offerings at:

Potomac River Bassing in OCTOBER

Fish are moving and relating to grass remnants, docks, and wood cover.

Mann’s Baby 1-Minus tied to 14-pound test Gamma Edge fluorocarbon line can be snapped out of grass or deflected off wood cover. Firetiger, red and shad patterns.

Bladed jigs produce on the same line. Black/blue, craw patterns, and white. Snap out of grass and crawl through wood cover.

Buzzbaits are a good choice on 30-pound Gamma Torque braid. Cast over cover and along docks. Replacing skirts with soft plastic toads make it more buoyant, slowing the retrieve.

Mizmo tubes, Texas rigged on 3/0 hooks with 3/16-ounce weights can be pitched to cover. Use drop shots around docks and drops with 15-pound Torque braid for main line and 12-pound Edge leader.

About the Author: Capt. Steve Chaconas is a Potomac bass fishing guide & freelance writer. Potomac river reports: nationalbass.com. YouTube channel NationalBassGuide.