After volunteering for eight years with the state's youth fishing club program, Baldwin considers an occasional hooking to be worth his while.

"I've hooked myself more than they have hooked me," the 59-year-old Murray resident said. "You just need to wear glasses, a hat and keep a good eye out."

Actually, it's pretty impressive that Baldwin hasn't been hooked more considering he's worked with somewhere between 800 and 1,000 youth between the ages of 5 and 13 since helping to launch the fishing club program managed by the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (DWR).

Baldwin decided to volunteer because he had recently retired from a career working professionally with a variety of youth programs and he wasn't ready to stop.

"A lot of the kids have never fished before and they can't fish anywhere else. Many of them have single parents who can't take them fishing," he said. "The most important thing is for them is to have fun. Many of them don't compete well in sports and I think it is appealing to them to have it just be them and the fish."

Baldwin, who oversees the youth fishing club at the Willow Pond in Murray, encourages other adult anglers to take a step forward and enjoy the thrill of helping kids catch their first fish.

"Catching their first fish can be different with each of them. Some get giggly, some get so focused on the fish they think they can walk on water, some get scared and some feel sad," he said.

The DWR offers youth fishing clubs at 20 community waters across the state ranging from Logan to Washington City. Some of the larger communities offer two clubs.

Training for new volunteers, which are desperately needed at many of the waters, only takes one evening in February. The clubs start meeting in early April, but only if enough volunteers show up.

Chris Penne, a community fisheries biologist with the DWR, reports that 2007 was the biggest year yet for the program with roughly 3,000 participants served by 270 volunteers.

Penne says volunteers don't need as much fishing experience as they might think to help kids develop a love for the sport.

"If you have a positive attitude, patience and good communication skills, you have everything we're looking for," Penne said in a prepared release. "We'll teach you everything else you'll need to have a great experience with these kids."