A little boy squeals with delight as he hands his fishing pole — with a rainbow trout on the other end — to the adults gathered around him. The boy runs a few feet away and begins to jump up and down as his catch is reeled in.
The boy was among nearly 40 parents, kids and volunteers, participated in the 10th year of Take a Kid Fishing on Aug. 4 at the Rocky Mountain Easter Seals Camp in Empire.
The goal of the free event, geared for children under 15, is to teach kids about the wonders of the outdoor world, according to event organizer Kelly Larkin-McKim, a fisheries biologist for the U.S. Forest Service.
“For me, the goal is to get kids outside with their parents and just out of the house on the weekend and just spending quality time together,” Larkin-McKim said.
She said the event has expanded over the years and is now a collaborative effort between the Forest Service, West Denver Trout Unlimited and Colorado Parks and Wildlife. It originally was aimed at giving hearing-impaired children the opportunity to learn about fishing.
Larkin-McKim said that, over the years, the event was held at multiple sites around the county before finally settling at the Easter Seals Camp. She said the goal is to spark interest in a new generation of potential anglers, as well as teach ethics and conservation.
“It’s just nice to get kids out, and everybody has a good time,” Larkin-McKim said.
Ty Petersburg, Clear Creek district manager for Colorado Parks and Wildlife, talked to a small group of parents and children about the art of fishing and handling trout before they moved to the small, well-stocked pond.
“So what do we know about fishing?” Petersburg asks the group. “You’re going to try and catch fish, right? There are no guarantees, but there are a lot of fish out there.”
The fishing pond teems with trout as fishing-pole-guided worms fall from the sky like comets. Clear Creek resident Lynda Edwards supervises the bombardment from a chair in the shade. Edwards has taken her grandchildren to the fishing event for four years.
Her granddaughter, 8-year-old Ryann Allen, who learned to fish at the event a few years ago, can’t be kept away from the outdoor sport.
“They like this because they always catch something here,” Edwards said.
Ryann, who attends school in Elbert County, has already had an active morning, getting three bites since casting her line. Ryann said she thought the best thing about fishing was taking home the day’s bounty.
“You get to bring stuff home, and you get to eat what you fished,” Ryann said.
Denver resident Drea Canoell brought her four children for the first time this year.
“The kids have been wanting to fish all summer, especially the 2-year-old, so we did a mystery trip and decided this would be a great opportunity just to get them out here and fish,” Canoell said.
Fellow Denver resident Jason Haggstrom also brought his two children to the event for the first time this year.
“Our kids just wanted to learn to fish for years,” Haggstrom said.
Haggstrom conceded that, so far that morning, he’d learned a lot about untangling fishing lines and re-baiting each cast.
“My wife and I really don’t know anything about fishing, so this was just a great opportunity to come up here and get some free outdoor fishing experience from people who actually know how to fish,” Haggstrom said.
Contact Ian Neligh at couranteditor@evergreenco.com, and check www.clearcreekcourant.com for updates and breaking news.