Angler club fishing trip

All+photos+courtesy+of+Steve+Galovich

All photos courtesy of Steve Galovich

“All right fishies, come out with your fins up!” makes for a better lure for fish than worms.

On September 16, the fishing club ventured out to Twin Lakes to participate in a fishing trip. Each club member teams up with a member who has a disability, and they start their day sitting by the lake trying to catch as many fish as possible.

Angler’s Club’s annual trip provides a golden opportunity for those who may not feel like they belong to get involved. The club meets once a month, and goes on several trips throughout the year, including one to Lake Michigan, making for a nice break from anyone’s typical school day. And as long as you have a pole at the ready, Angler’s club welcomes anyone on their trips. Steve Galovich, a supervisor of the Angler’s Club for the past 28 years, has seen his fair share of catches, from huge successes to some strange finds.

This year’s trip had a special pike as its Catch-of-the-Day, which caused quite the splash. It started with Brain Galovich, a longstanding member of the Angler Club, feeling a strong tug on his line. An experienced fisherman, he quickly handed it over to [insert name]. As the rest of the kids rushed to watch [insert name], the pike kept flapping around, tugging like an unruly dog on a leash. With a final pull, [insert last name] tugged the pike onto shore, much to everyone’s delight. Gabe Galovich, another member, dashed to jump on the fish, nearly letting it flop back into the water once more. The pike measured a whopping two-feet long, nearly the size of twenty-four hockey pucks!

Of course, not every catch can be a fish. In one of the past years, Lucas, one of the participants, had a very successful day so far. His fishing numbers had been spectacular, a total of twenty-three fish! As he felt another tug on the line, Lucas hoped for his twenty-fourth fish, but imagine his surprise when a singular shoe popped out of the water instead! But he took the shoe in stride, taking it and his next catch (a tennis ball) in stride as he excitedly told Mr.Galovich about his day.

So, getting the biggest or the most amount of fish isn’t everything. In fact, Galovich observed that the Angler’s Club gets as much out of the trip as their designated teammate, especially when he looks at his kids: “to me, its been a great experience watching my kids get to work with people who have disabilities and it’s been awesome for them, for their growth as people,” Galovich said.