WASHINGTON -- Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne joined more than 300 elementary school students today to kick off National Fishing and Boating Week by fishing for bass, yellow perch and bluegill in the pond at Constitution Gardens on the National Mall.

"Fishing is a wonderful pastime that connects children to the great outdoors and helps build a new generation of conservationists," said Secretary Kempthorne.

Kempthorne, joined by officials from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, other federal and state agencies, and conservation organizations, led the students in an official castoff marking the beginning of the week.

National Fishing and Boating Week is an annual, national celebration of fishing and boating during the first full week in June. It is coordinated by one of the Service’s partners, the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation.

“Fishing is a wonderful pastime that connects children to the great outdoors and helps build a new generation of conservationists,” Kempthorne said. “National Fishing and Boating Week offers many opportunities to take kids out and help them enjoy the natural world.”

Volunteers from the Service, other Interior Department agencies, and a number of other organizations provided instruction to the children. Groups involved included the American Sportfishing Association, Trout Unlimited, the District of Columbia Fisheries and Wildlife Division, the Future Fisherman Foundation, the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.

The sponsors supplied fishing gear and invited elementary students to try their hand at casting a line.

Many states do not require a fishing license during the week and hold fishing clinics, casting contests, derbies, fish hatchery open houses and other family-oriented activities.  Hundreds of communities also sponsor their own fishing and boating-related events.