Kids get hooked on fishing
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Excited kids ran around Bockman Park in Ronan packing fish on Friday morning, although Brooklyn Chacon, 5, wasn’t about to touch her fish.
The Veterans of Foreign Wars of Ronan sponsored the event like they’ve been doing for the past several years.
“All you have to do is watch and you get an appreciation for why we do this,” said Veteran Ron Merwin as he looked in the direction of excited children catching fish.
Many of the younger kids needed help to pull the big rainbow trout out of the water. About 600 fish were brought in from a Columbia Falls fish hatchery.
“The hatchery gives the fish to the tribe and they put them in the tanks,” he said of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes.
The City of Ronan puts up screens on both ends of Spring Creek running through the park to keep the fish from swimming away from the event. The tribe posts signs saying the area is open for fishing to those 14 and under.
“We all work together to do this,” Merwin said. “The VFW couldn’t do this without the help.”
The city also set up two large blue tanks under the pavilion and the tribe fills them with fish for the younger kids to try their hand at fishing.
The VFW Auxiliary group registered the kids for the event and gave them tickets to win prizes donated by the tribe and local businesses. More than 100 kids signed up.
Madison Chacon, 7, held up her 14-inch fish and took a moment to examine it. Traiten Marmon, 8, ran across the park with a large fish in his hands to show his parents. “This is the first time I’ve caught a fish today,” he said barely able to contain his excitement. “This is so awesome.”
Ben McKee, 12, and his brother Tom McKee, 11, stood at the edge of the creek with fishing poles in hand. They look forward to the event all year.
“I’ve caught four so far,” he said. “I’m using a spinner and a worm. Last year, I just used a hook and I wasn’t getting anything.”
The screens kept the fish in the park over the Pioneer Days weekend so the kids could continue fishing. The screens were later removed and any remaining fish swam on down the creek.
