Kids Fish-In

Published 2:15 pm Saturday, May 14, 2011

It’s been a few years since I’ve volunteered to help kids catch fish at the annual Kids Fish-In at Silver Lake in Everett and I’d almost forgotten how much fun it is.

First things first. The event is not about fly fishing, although my fly fishing group The Evergreen Fly Fishing Club provided some volunteers and also had a couple tables where kids could tie a fly with some expert help if so inclined.

But the event set up by the Everett Parks Department on Saturday was all about letting kids from ages 5 to 14 catch a bunch of fish with power bait, put them in a bag and take them home.

You can’t teach kids about fishing unless they can catch some fish. It’s too boring otherwise. A lot were caught Saturday.

The state put 4,500 trout in a net pen about 20 feet from the beach. There were fewer than 450 kids at the event (they came in shifts) so most youngsters went home with their three-fish limit.

Most of the fish were swimming right along the net looking for a place to get out, so if you could put the power bait right if front of it, you had to wait only a minute of two for a fish.

I’m not much of a bait caster, so my role was mostly to take the hook out of the fish and rebait it. My friend Gary Medema of Marysville was great at putting the bait in the right spot, and I don’t think he helped anyone who didn’t go home with their limit.

Kids get excited when they have a fish on the line. It was so great to see that I almost didn’t mind when one of them embedded a hook in my hand with a cast.

We got the hook out, but it was a good reminder for me about why I fish only with barbless hooks. They come out so much easier that way.

The state used to offer kids a T-shirt and a rod and reel at this event. With budget cuts, it’s now just offering the fish..

The Everett Salmon & Steelhead Club brought volunteers and loaner rods for the kids who needed it and the Northwest Fly Anglers in North Seattle also provided $400 for expenses. Several other clubs helped. And Ted’s Sports Center in Lynnwood has been a faithful sponsor of the event. This year, in addition to not getting rods and reels and shirts, kids had to pay $7 to help defray costs; $10 on the day of the event.

If you missed the Everett Fish-In, there will be one next Saturday, May 21, at Twin Lakes Park in Marysville near I-5 Exit 206.