Remember this commercial? It’s a highly successful spot produced by the folks at the Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation (RBFF). The mission of the RBFF is to increase participation in recreational angling. I’ve got news for them: it worked.

Ever since that ad aired, I’ve been itching to take my kids fishing. Last week, during National Fishing Week (June 6-14), there were a series of events meant to encourage fishing held across the country. Events were staged in several state parks – we just had to choose one.

Choosing a park suitable for fishing in Pennsylvania is easy: more than 100 state parks allow fishing. Nearly 3,000 miles of waterway are classified as high quality and another 626 miles are considered exceptional. Additionally, the Commonwealth has 207 miles of designated trout streams.

With so many great parks to choose from, it was difficult to narrow our choices down to one. We finally opted for Ricketts Glen State Park. The 13,050 acre park has overnight camping facilities, a beach and 22 named waterfalls. We figured if the fishing didn’t go as well as planned, we’d have a number of other activities to keep us busy.

The park office was offering loaner rods and tackle boxes over the weekend – great for novices like us. They offered to give us spades in the event that we wanted to dig our own worms (ugh!) but we instead chose to hit the local store for a pre-packaged canister of wrigglers.

As a city girl, I was a bit hesitant about the whole “having to touch the worms” thing. Make fun if you want, but my day job is pushing papers and chatting with the IRS (I’m a tax attorney) not coordinating the placement of wiggling worms on a sharp hook while small children squeal in excitement. But a few moments in, I was, pardon the pun, hooked.

We had a terrific time along the shores of the dam in the park. After more than an hour, we caught… sea weed. Lots and lots of sea weed. But it was great fun as a family holding our collective breaths in anticipation each time one of the kids reeled in their “catch” and later, trying to guess how far out we could cast our reels. In between casting, it was nice to simply relax by the water for a few moments and watch the families across the way try their luck, too. They were admittedly more successful than us but I’m fairly certain that they had more experience: the dad wore waders and a fishing cap. He just looked like a fisherman.

At the end of our first fishing expedition, we were a little damp, a little pink from the sun (okay, I was a little red from the sun, the kids were fine) but very happy. The kids were disappointed when it was over and immediately demanded to know when we were going again (soon, we now have reservations at Promised Land State Park). It was a wonderful way to spend an afternoon.

It’s worth noting that there are some fishing rules and regulations in the Commonwealth. The most important is that a current license, signed in ink, is required of persons age 16 and over to fish in the Commonwealth. Licenses are good for the calendar year and cost just under $25 for residents (even less for seniors and day passes, more for out of state anglers). It’s incredibly easy to get a license, you can even do it online. If you have questions about licensing and other PA fishing rules, you can check out the Commonwealth’s fishing web site here.

So get out there and give it a go. And if you’re not successful, much like us, don’t be discouraged. Remember: a bad day of fishing is better than a good day of work.