Syracuse.com - Spider Rybaak honored with 'Pass It On Award' by state outdoor writer's group-

[HuntingNY-News]

To stress the importance of passing on our outdoor heritage to others, Bass Pro Shops sponsors this annual award and donates $300 to the scholarship fund of the New York State Outdoor Writers Association in the name of the recipient.

The following is a news release:

The New York State Outdoor Writers' Association (NYSOWA) announced on Sept. 16 at its annual conference, in Lake Placid, N.Y., that Ray Hrynyk, better known as "Spider Rybaak," is this year's recipient of the Pass It On Award. This award is sponsored jointly by NYSOWA and Bass Pro Shops.

To stress the importance of passing on our outdoor heritage to others, Bass Pro Shops sponsors this annual award and donates $300 to the scholarship fund of NYSOWA in the name of the recipient. A committee solicits nominations and chooses the writer who is most deserving of this award.

Both NYSOWA and Bass Pro Shops realize that passing on our outdoor heritage is vital if we are to keep alive the ethics of conservation and the enjoyment of natural resources and outdoor sports. This can be accomplished in many forms, including youth activities, education, publicity and mentoring.

For more than 10 years, Spider Rybaak, of Canastota, has taught spin-fishing and fly-fishing classes to youths at Wellesley Island State Park on a monthly basis from spring through fall. For the past few years, Spider has helped with kids' fishing instruction at Neawantha Lake in Fulton, N.Y. He has also volunteered to assist with the youth fishing instruction program in St. Lawrence County.

While attending sport shows he is often giving free lures and instructions on how to use them to youngsters who came up to his booth. Spider has volunteered, and given free of charge, fishing seminars and presentations at various sports shows for many years.

He has volunteered his time as an instructor at various youth fishing clinics in Syracuse and elsewhere in New York state. Rybaak has written several books on fishing and his writing in many publications has passed along valuable information on where and how to enjoy our valuable resources, gain success with fishing techniques and show respect for the natural resources.

Ryabaak also writes a blog, "Hunting and Fishing Oswego County, N.Y.," which appears on the Oswego County tourism website.

For information on NYSOWA and its programs, visit the group's website.

View the full article on The Syracuse Outdoors Blog