Here it is at last; Free Fishing Weekend in Washington State – the lakeside social event of the year. Buckle up.
Tomorrow and Sunday, you will need no license to fish in any open water in the state, and plenty of fat “truck trout” have been dropped into local waters for you. Here’s the small print: yes, you need no state license, but size limits, bag limits and closures still rule, and you must complete a catch record card (available free at license dealers) for any salmon, steelhead, sturgeon or halibut you catch.
Sadly, I now have only adults (Edward, last of the Hucklings, left “youth” a few years ago), but you can take your kidlings to any one of several fishing opportunities in Paradise.
Tomorrow in the Upper Kittitas County, the Annual Cascade Field and Stream Kids Fishing Derby (14 and under) happens under the sponsorship of the Cle Elum Ranger District and Cascade Field and Stream Club. Registration is at 6 a.m. at Lavender Lake, exit 74 off I-90, and prizes will be given in several age groups. Other activities (fish anatomy, habitat, ethics, etc.) at five stations, will get kids into a free raffle for even more prizes. Get more details at 509-852-1100.
The Kiwanis Pond (formerly the first Hanson Pond across I-90 from Cle Elum, south of exit 84) will be open for kids and disabled fishers only. It is well-stocked for great fishing, and you may join the group if you qualify.
Here in Lower Paradise, our big tomorrow event is the Kiwanis Kids Free Fishing Derby at North Fio Rito. The Derby runs 10:00 to Noon for any fishers 14 and under. There are abundant prizes and fun, and info from Dale DeFoor at 929-0449.
Thus, you may find groups of people gathered around pools of water across the county, watching and cheering for kids fishing.
Funny things happen when gangs of people get together to fish.
Near the end of the last century, I took eight-year-old Edward and thirteen-year-old Anna to a fishing derby at the Hansen Pond (now Kiwanis Pond) near Cle Elum.
The instructions clearly said “Do not start fishing until 7:00 a.m.” We were there at 6:50. There were two dozen lines in the water, and the first fish had already been registered. Hmmm.
The derby was for kids 14 and under, of course. Adults could cast lines and bait hooks, but fish were to be hooked, played and landed by the kids. As we walked to a likely fishing spot, I talked to a dad and a granddad holding and baiting two separate rods, for the lone five- or six-year-old kid standing by. They explained that they wanted to make sure he would always have a rod ready to go and wouldn’t have any “down” time.
I watched half a dozen dads or granddads casting, hooking and bringing in fish. A couple of them actually stepped on their kids as they cast over, and across, the lines of anybody in the way. Frustrated, Edward observed that there was plenty of room, and asked me why the man with the two little kids just down the shoreline kept casting both their lines over his, which was straight out. “Because you caught a couple fish,” I guessed, “and he thinks your hole is the only one in the lake with trout in it.”
Eventually, the guy handed the rods off to his kids. Other dads handed off to their kids once a fish was close to shore. In time, our neighbor actually let his boy and girl hook and land two nice truck trout.
By the 9 a.m. quitting time, the adults had pretty much surrendered, and kids were fishing, focused and happy. As I took in the scene, it seemed to me that a few fishers were being born.
I still remember driving away, mind awash with musings about the future of fishing. Where were we headed if we were teaching our kids that fishing is some sort of competition? As we drove up the dirt track back to civilization, Edward and older sister Anna discussed the merits of fishing with large groups. On balance, they decided, it had been a fun morning. At some point in their backseat discussion, Anna tapped me on the shoulder. “Okay, Dad, we’re ready to go back to that McCabe Pond place now. We wanna see if we can catch another five pound catfish!”
A friend once observed, “Teach a kid to fish and she’ll hassle you for more ‘til she’s grown and gone!” Personally, I think it extends beyond “grown and gone,” but that’s another conversation.
Take a kid fishing. Even the random nature of sportsmanlike gang fishing looks like a good start to a fishing life.
