Last winter I spent some time covering Frankie’s MN State Panfish Ice Fishing Tournament.  There I met a young dad named Tony Dahlberg.  I was impressed by Tony’s love for the outdoors, passion for fishing and dedication to his family.  These are all traits that I hold dear.  I had seen some of Tony’s posts on Facebook and loved seeing his kids have fun in the ice fishing house.

Tony told me about a new organization dedicated to mentoring kids, Future Anglers of Minnesota.

They support and develop enthusiasm for the outdoors through a lifetime of personalized mentorship. They differentiate themselves by providing a 2:1 student to mentor ratio which allows them to connect with kids on a much deeper level. 

The group was started in 2021 by a group of ice fishermen who organize the Minnesota Made Ice Fishing League.  The idea is to leverage their relationship with seasoned anglers to help teach kids to fish and train them to help other kids.  They want to change the way some people think about fishing and teach kids about conservation, being a standup person and representing the sport. 

They ran free kid’s clinics this past winter.  MN Made tourneys happen on Sundays.  So, the Saturday prior to each tournament they hosted 3 clinics for 20 kids ages 7-17.  They got 10 people from the league to have one to two kids.  That way the angler adjusts what they teach to what the kid needs and based on the skill level.  The focus is on getting kids basic fishing knowledge and to start a mentor relationship.

They will soon be publishing their summer agenda.  I am looking forward to promoting their work.