Mercury Marine works with industry to promote boating and fishing for kids

FOND DU LAC, Wis. – Mercury Marine, the world leader in commercial and recreational marine propulsion and technology, has partnered with Bill Dance, host of Bill Dance Outdoors, and Fox Sports Outdoors host Barry Stokes to create videos that promote the value of boating and the importance of getting kids to experience life on the water.

“I’ve never seen a child who didn’t like to fish and I’ve never seen one that didn’t enjoy it twice as much when it was done from a boat,” said Dance. “It was sure that way for me when I was a child.”

According to new statistics released by the NMMA, fishing is the number one boating activity, followed by tubing and waterskiing. Both Stokes and Dance, with the help of Mercury Marine, encourage families to experience the water and teach kids the importance of family time at an early age.

“My dad lit my fishing fuse when I was only six years old,” said Stokes. “I still vividly remember trout fishing in small streams in Colorado and fishing for bass from our aluminum fishing boat all over Texas. I looked forward to him tugging on my big toe to wake me up at 5 a.m. to go fishing almost every weekend. Those snapshots are forever freeze-framed in my memory and I still call them up frequently.”

Both Dance and Stokes have released videos promoting the boating and fishing lifestyle for kids. You can view those videos on the Mercury Marine YouTube page:

Dance video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhjGEg5jIkU&feature=youtu.be

Stokes video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOR-1Ndwjzg&feature=youtu.be

For additional information about how to make fishing and boating fun for kids, log on to the Take Me Fishing website, which features safety information and other ways to encourage the boating and fishing lifestyle for young kids.