More than 950 kids signed up for annual Kids Fish-In
After receiving her free fishing rod, Kylee Hahn, 4, of Cheney wastes no time hauling her mom out to the beach at Clear Lake to try her hand at catching trout during the annual Kids Fish-In on May 1. About 80 volunteers helped around 900 kids get outfitted to catch fish during the annual event sponsored by local fishing clubs, Zebco, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and Fairchild Air Force Base. (Rich Landers)
Kids are putting trout dinner on hundreds of tables this weekend.
More than 950 youngsters were registered for the annual Kids Fish-In today at Clear Lake, and by noon they already had taken home thousands of hatchery-raised rainbow trout – or donated their catch to the needy.
For $5, each kid received a fully rigged Zebco fishing rod and reel to keep, plus a t-shirt and help baiting and catching fish stocked in net pens off the Fairchild Recreation Site beach.
About 80 volunteers from area fishing clubs, colleges and other organizations helped set up more 1,200 rod-reel combos and keep the hooks baited as the kids took half-hour shifts at the lake’s edge.
For many kids, it was their first shot at fishing, which is the whole idea, said Fred Zitterkopf of the Inland Northwest Wildlife Council, one of six sportsmen’s groups involved.
Another group of volunteers was kept very busy cleaning fish for the youngsters to take home.
If a family wanted the fishing experience but not the fish, other volunteers cleaned the trout and put them on ice for delivery to the Spokane Food Bank.
