ALEXANDRIA BAY, New York (WWNY) – An Alexandria Bay couple has created a new game which combines two sports – fishing and cornhole.
On a hot July day, Eric and Debi Kloss showed off their game, called ‘Hooked,’ by using fishing poles to try to win a round.
Eric came up with the idea during the COVID-19 pandemic when he didn’t see as many kids playing outside or fishing.
“When I was a kid, there were all kinds of kids outside fishing and today you don’t see as much of that. So I wondered if I could come up with a game to get kids interested in casting and perfect their skill of casting along with having fun with their friends and family,” Eric said.
Here’s how it works: players cast a bean-filled fish onto the board AND score points by hitting the board, staying on the board, or going in the holes. Games go to 21.
‘Hooked’ aims to teach people how to fish, while also mixing in the fun of cornhole.
Eric’s wife, Debi, says that she never was much of an angler, but she really enjoys playing a round of Hooked.
“He’s tried to get me to fish with him for years, unfortunately it’s just not my thing. But the second I tried it, I was hooked. I mean, literally, I was hooked,” Debi said.
With the North Country being home to some of the best fishing in the nation, the Klosses are hoping to spread their game to more people, especially with both the Bassmaster and Major League Fishing Tournaments taking place in the next few weeks.
“We feel that it’s going to appeal to a lot of people who like to fish and maybe people that want to start fishing because they never had a fishing pole in their hand,” Eric said.
“It gets them used to casting and I’ve had people tell me, their kids want to fish now.”
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