Kids' Fishing Day

The above picture is of Bonnie Robbins 5 years old of Washburn and her dad Brian. Bonnie won big fish and big stringer awards in the girls division.

The May 16 Spring Kids' Fishing Day was a big success in spite of a big flood, high wind, and a week of wet weather that occurred before the event. After the flood on May 1st, DNR and MDC worked together to get permits from the Corps of Engineers and to repair erosion and other damage on the stream. Work continued until late May 15 to get the area ready and safe for the event. In addition, there was a wind storm around 11:30 pm on May 15 that blew over activity tents and tables with prizes. Fortunately there were several park employees available to clean up the mess before morning. The record number (1,763) for Kids' Fishing Day was in 2007. This year we had 1,400 kids turn out which was not bad considering weather conditions before hand. There was a record number (102) of volunteers who helped out. The biggest fish of the day (6.35 lbs.) was caught by Bonnie Robbins of Washburn. Bonnie also won the award for girls big stringer at 10.4 lbs. The biggest fish in the boy's division was caught by Dylan Hise from Pryor Oklahoma and biggest stringer was caught by Kory Holmberg from Hutchinson Kansas at 13.35 lbs. There were 85 kids who filled out applications for their first fish award. Our next Kids' Fishing Day will be Aug. 15, 2009