Local Boy Scout Thomas Eitzen has said he no longer enjoys fishing. He used to do it, but he doesn’t do it anymore. He’s not sure why he stopped, he said, but he thinks boredom played a part. He is only 8 years old after all. Maybe he doesn’t fully appreciate a quiet day away from the stresses of life. He prefers activities such as swimming and climbing trees.

That’s not to say that Thomas – the recipient of an outdoor ethics award that he displays on his jacket – doesn’t want to help others enjoy the hobby. He enjoys going out for a swim while his papaya fishes, and he attended an event Thursday afternoon at Bass Pro stores in East Ridge to help kids get their reels and fishing rods.

The event was part of an initiative created from an idea from Bass Pro Shops founder Johnny Morris. He wanted families to spend less time on digital devices and more time outdoors. To do this, his business and Cabela’s, which merged last year, are working to connect families to fishing. A coincident event, called “Gone Fishing”, will be held in Bass Pro stores on Saturday and Sunday and June 16 and 17 to further the company’s efforts to engage children in the outdoors. Kids of all ages will be able to catch fish in catch-and-release fishing ponds, bring home a beginner’s fishing guide, and participate in games and crafts.

“Johnny Morris really wants to get kids off the TV and bring them outside,” said Bass Pro Shops event coordinator Amy Dodson. “It’s part of the way we do it, we get a bunch of [fishing equipment] together, and we donate it locally. “

The company donates 50,000 rods and reels nationwide to nonprofit organizations that help kids connect with the outdoors. The initiative and events take place in Bass Pro stores across the United States. Locally, over 300 rods and reels have been donated to the company and are donated to Fish Dayton, Catch Ministries and Boy Scouts with Troop 224, Troop 2, Pack 3099 and Pack 3002 with the Cherokee Regional Council. Each organization is responsible for providing fishing equipment to children in the region.

Cleveland, Tennessee, the Catch Ministry faith-based organization will take used equipment and beautify it before donating it. Workers will contact local schools to connect students to rods and reels. The ministry organizes events throughout the region each year to spread the gospel through fishing.

“We have a program where kids write a short essay on why they like to fish,” said Kevin Johnson, chairman of the Department of Catch. “Obviously you have people who are more blessed than others. We’re trying to make sure that those who really need rods and reels can get them.”

For the local Boy Scouts, this is a mission that they fully support.

Scout Brody Owens, 10, has been fishing for about four years. He appreciates the silence and calm and was delighted to hear about the event. He wants to see other kids enjoy fishing too, and he might not have to wait long to see that desire manifest.

At the end of the event, Thomas reflected on his previous statements about not liking fishing and came to a new thought.

“You know, maybe I’ll go fishing again,” he said.

Contact editor Mark Pace at [email protected] or 423-757-6659. Follow him on Twitter @the market place and on Facebook @ChattanoogaOutdoor.