ALEXANDRIA, Va., June 3, 2009 -- With National Fishing and Boating Week June 6-14, BoatUS has five easy ways to celebrate the week and inspire families and friends to head out for some fun fishing and safe boating:

1. Brush up on your fishing skills: From learning about fishing tactics, equipment and safety to advice and stories from pro anglers, BoatUSAngler.com has expert advice to help beginners start out right and keep experienced anglers at their peak. Click on "Fishing How-Tos" where you’ll also find information that will help you teach your kids about catch and release fishing and how to measure a fish.

2. Go fishing for free: In honor of this special week, many states offer one or more days where anglers won’t need a license to fish.  Go to TakeMeFishing.org website where you’ll find free fishing days and events in your area.

3. Make a fishing trip memorable for a child: Take a photo of your child with their catch and send it to the BoatUS Angler Catch of the Month Contest . Photos will be displayed on the association’s Web site, BoatUSAngler.com, and will also be entered into a monthly prize drawing.

4. Go window shopping: Boating is more affordable than you may think. Start dreaming and sign up for your free online copy of weekly BoatUS Classified Ads .  There are four separate weekly Classifed Ad E-Newsletters each for fishing boats, powerboats, trailerable boats and sailboats.

5. Go boating with the kids wearing the right life jackets:  Don’t worry if you want to take a bunch of kids boating and don’t have enough life jackets.  The BoatUS Foundation's free Life Jacket Loaner Program for Kids offers free child and youth life jackets for the day or weekend at over 500 waterfront sites, boat clubs, businesses and fire houses.

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About BoatUS Angler:

BoatUS Angler is a membership program from the nation’s largest association of recreational boaters whose mission is to protect the interests of boat-owning freshwater anglers, increase boating safety, provide consumer assistance and ensure fishing remains worry-free. For more information, go to BoatUSAngler.com or call 866-906-0013.