Independently owned since 1905
Independently owned since 1905
CASTAWAYS - As they receive tips from some of the adults, young anglers work at catching some fish at the Kids' Fishing Day event Saturday at the State Park pond.
HAPPINESS IS catching a nice trout in Saturday's Kids' Fishing Day at the Montana State Park pond west of Thompson Falls. Gracie Bonnes responds to landing a rainbow trout as Scott Palmer and Nathan Snead of the U.S. Forest Service and Gracie's cousin Tristan Kelly join in on the fun. A driving force behind the fishing day, Palmer hopes to keep the program going in coming years.
It was a first for the state park in Thompson Falls, and for many youth in attendance. Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) held the first annual Kids Fishing Day at the small pond in the park.
"We were very fortunate with the weather," said fisheries biologist Jason Blakney on the overcast morning, "perfect fishing weather – we didn't get rained on and it wasn't too hot."
Blakney, other FWP representatives and Forest Service personnel were on site to assist kids in finding a passion for fishing and the outdoors. Maneuvering of inter-departmental funding allowed the fishing event to take place, using leftover donations from the Noxon fishing day at Triangle Pond that has become a tradition for many families.
"This isn't the same animal as the west end event," explained Blakney. "This is a pretty small pond and we weren't sure how many would show up, since the clouds looked threatening. But it was a good turnout and we had enough free gear that everyone could go home with something."
Because of the pond's small size, the day was divided into shifts, with the younger age group going first, followed by the older kids.
"We had some very helpful donations locally from businesses like S&S Sports and Feed & Fuel, as well as Blackfoot and some hefty help from Cabela's," said Scott Palmer with the Forest Service.
Despite the pond's inferior square footage compared to the massive Triangle Pond, Blakney noted that the fishing was good.
"Way fewer kids and way less space, but the fishing was three times as good as Noxon's fishing day – the kids just kept pulling them out, one after the other." He would have liked to see more kids out, but the 30 total kids made for plenty of elbow and casting room, as well as "keeping things from getting too crazy," Blakney shared.
Judging by the first year's turnout and the generosity of donors, Blakney said the angling event will likely be a yearly happening. "As word spreads, I think we'll get the perfect amount of kids out here. We're looking forward to this being an annual event."
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