Kids fishing day provides fun at the Frog Pond
Saturday’s chilly, cloudy weather didn’t dampen the spirit of the day or the fun for the kids who showed up for the Kid Fish at the Frog Pond event next to the Stephens County Animal Shelter.
Nathan Tatum received the prize for catching the largest fish from Andy McCuistion. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/ Breckenridge Texan)
The event, which was sponsored by the Breckenridge Rotary Club and the Breckenridge Lions Club, attracted about 45 kids. No fishing licenses were required to participate in the event. Most of the fish caught by the kids were perch, but there were a couple of bass. All the fish were released after their length was measured.
Breckenridge City Manager Andy McCuistion, one of the Rotarians who was on hand to help out at the event, said this year’s event was a good start, and that he hopes it continues to grow each year. He said by the time next year’s event comes around he hopes the catfish in the pond will be bigger so if the kids catch one, they can keep it.
He said the City of Breckenridge had cleaned up some of the area around the pond and stocked it with 400 channel catfish and 500 minnows.
Two tackle-boxes were given away as prizes for the biggest fish and smallest fish caught. Nathan Tatum caught the largest fish, a 10-inch bass, and Brodie Luna caught the smallest fish, a 3-inch perch. All total, there were 119 fish caught by the young anglers.
Brodie Luna shows off his prize for catching the smallest fish. (Photo courtesy of Michael Roach)
The fishing gear was provided by the Breckenridge Rotary Club and the Breckenridge Lions Club. The bait was donated by Hubbard Creek Catfish Club and the prize tackle boxes were donated by Higginbotham’s.
In addition to Rotary Club and Lions Club volunteers at Saturday’s event, Texas Game Warden Cliff Westbrook and Fire Chief Calvin Chaney were on hand to help out.
Kids who participated in the event were given t-shirts and had their picture taken with the fish they caught. They also had free hotdogs, chips and drinks.
“The fish caught out here weren’t huge, but the smiles sure were,” said Lions Club member Shalon Wilson. She said there was also large turnout of families that participated in the event.
Story by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan
