Some fishing memories start with a perfect cast.
Others start with a hand-me-down Zebco, a nervous grin, a cup of worms, and somebody standing nearby saying, “Try right over there.”
For generations of South Carolina kids, SCDNR fishing rodeos have been one of those first doorways into the outdoors. A child shows up to a pond, lake, riverbank, or community fishing event and finds more than fish waiting. They find encouragement. They find patient hands. They find rods, tackle, food, volunteers, conservation officers, biologists, parents, grandparents, and a whole shoreline full of people who believe a first fish can become a lifelong connection.
Now, thanks to a special partnership between Z-Man Fishing Products and the Hampton Wildlife Fund, those young anglers will have something new to tie on.
Introducing Uncle Harry’s DNR-Time, an exclusive new artificial lure color created by Z-Man for its popular Finesse TRD lineup. Officially named Harry Hampton DNR Time, this special color was created in honor of Harry R.E. Hampton’s conservation legacy and the statewide work being done to connect children with South Carolina’s woods and waters.
These lures are not headed for tackle shop shelves. They are headed straight into the hands of kids.
Across South Carolina, youth fishing rodeos give children the chance to experience fishing in a way that is welcoming, approachable, and fun. The Hampton Wildlife Fund helps make these events possible by providing funding for the rodeos, rods, tackle, and food. That support matters. It removes barriers. It helps families show up. It gives children a fair chance to participate, even if they have never owned a rod, tied a knot, or felt a fish thump the end of a line.
That is where Uncle Harry’s DNR-Time fits in.
At first glance, it is a lure. Soft plastic. Pocket-sized. Made to catch fish.
But in the hands of a young angler, it becomes something bigger. It becomes a first cast. A first bass. A first bluegill. A first story told at the dinner table with both hands stretched just a little farther apart than necessary.
It becomes a beginning.
In the accompanying video, the President of Z-Man Fishing Products joins senior SCDNR personnel who help lead fishing events across the state to share how they first got into fishing and why this partnership means so much. Their stories all drift toward the same truth: fishing is rarely just about catching fish.
It is about access.
It is about confidence.
It is about slowing down long enough to notice the world moving around you.
It is about a child learning that water is alive, that patience has a rhythm, and that conservation is not just something adults talk about at meetings. It starts when a young person feels connected to a fish, a pond, a river, or a place worth protecting.
That has always been central to the Hampton Wildlife Fund’s mission. The Fund exists to support conservation, education, research, and responsible natural resource stewardship across South Carolina. Through its long partnership with SCDNR, the Hampton Wildlife Fund has helped support programs that reach far beyond one event or one season. The fishing rodeos are a perfect example. They meet families where they are and invite children into the outdoors with a simple promise: come fish with us.
No pressure. No perfection. Just a chance.
And sometimes, that is all it takes.
Harry Hampton understood that South Carolina’s wildlife and natural resources belonged not just to one generation, but to every generation still coming up behind it. He believed in the responsibility of stewardship, and he believed that the future of conservation depended on people caring enough to get involved.
Uncle Harry’s DNR-Time carries that idea forward in a wonderfully practical way. It is conservation you can cast. A lure built by a South Carolina fishing company, shared through a statewide conservation partnership, handed to children at events designed to help them fall in love with fishing.
That is a pretty good use for a piece of tackle.
Because one day, a child who receives one of these lures may remember the first fish they caught at a DNR rodeo. They may remember the volunteer who helped them tie it on. They may remember standing beside the water with a full belly, a borrowed rod, and a little more confidence than they arrived with.
And years from now, when they are teaching someone else how to cast, they may realize the real catch was never just the fish.
It was the connection.
Watch the video to hear from Z-Man and SCDNR leaders about the stories behind the partnership, the power of youth fishing rodeos, and the excitement of putting Uncle Harry’s DNR-Time into the hands of South Carolina’s next generation of anglers.
One lure. One cast. One kid at a time.
That is how traditions begin.
