WINNEMUCCA - Kids Free Fishing Day turned 21 years old this year.
U.S. Forest Service Natural Resources Specialist Tina Gast proposed the idea and organized the first Kids Free Fishing Day in 1992 at the Andorno Pond, owned by the Wilson family.
The day is made possible by that family's generosity each year through the free use of their private property and pond. The event has been co-sponsored by the Forest Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, with some help from Bureau of Land Management employees.
Parents, grandparents, and friends took over 100 young people to the Andorno Pond on June 8 to enjoy a fun day fishing. Participants also had the opportunity to win a whole host of prizes donated for the event by local business supporters, including Barrick, Newmont and Hycroft, Reliable Ace Hardware, Khoury's, Raley's, CB Browns True Value Hardware, Echeverria's and Park Cinemas.
Prizes were awarded in three age categories: the first fish, the best cast, the biggest fish, and there was a grand prize. Winners who caught the first fish were (5-7 age category) Jacob Anderson, (8-10) Xander Hicks, and (11-13) Matthew Garrison.
The best casting was done by (5-7 age group) Doni Riley, (8-10 age group) Isaac Mori, and (11-13 age group) Matthew Garrison.
The biggest fish, a 19.25-pound rainbow trout, was caught by 6-year-old Kaden Zimmerman. In the 8-10-year-old class, Anthony Osborne caught the largest fish at 17.25 pounds. In the 11-13-year-old category, Preston Snow and Devin Madrid tied with fish that weighed 16.25 pounds.
At the end of the day all the kids names were put into a hat for the grand prize drawing. Kassidy Kirby won the grand prize drawing and took home a new bicycle.
Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW) sets the stage for all this fishing success every year by planting 500 to 1,000 fish in the Andorno Pond.
Fisheries Biologist Brad Bauman said NDOW plants the eight to 10-inch fish about a month before the kids fishing day. Bauman said the larger fish that are caught by the kids participating are fish planted in the pond a year or two years ago.
The fish are raised at the Mason Valley Fish Hatchery. Bauman said kids fishing day gives youngsters a great introduction to the lifetime sport of fishing. He added that having the agencies come together and having the support of business donations and the generosity of the private landowner are all necessary for a successful event.
Mark Turney and Greg Lynch, with the Winnemucca BLM district, said they enjoyed being involved with the event. They said BLM volunteers work with the young people as they fish - untangling line, helping bait hooks or casting. They noted that the casting contest is preceded by casting instruction to help the young people improve their skills.
There is a five fish limit for the day and quite a few of the young people caught their limit.
EMT Dave Lott also volunteered for the event, just to be on hand in case anyone needed medical attention. No one did, which was a good thing, but perhaps surprising, Turney pointed out, given that there were over 100 hooks being thrown through the air repeatedly.
Turney and Lynch both commented on how nice it was to see young people and their families come out and enjoy the day together.
The youngest fishermen allowed must be at least 5 years old, but Turney said if a little brother or sister wanted to fish, they let them just throw out a bobber without a hook on it and hold onto the fishing pole so they felt like they're involved too.
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