Nearly 100 kids took part in a fishing outing on Saturday in Hobart, Indiana.
It was an annual tradition started by a group of people who want to share their love of fishing and give kids a fun outdoor activity.
The 15th annual Take a Kid Fishing Derby took place at Big Maple Lake in Deep River County Park.
The kids were competing for prizes, and learning a thing or two from the adults.
We met Raymond and Anthony Salvador and their mom, Nicole, at the lake.
“I just like the beautifulness, like, how it’s beautiful and stuff, Anthony said. “It’s something to do with my free time that’s really fun.”
His younger brother, Anthony, agreed that fishing is pretty fun.
“You can catch, like, pike, crappie, bluegill, bass,” he said.
Their mom, Nicole Salvador said they’ve been excited about this day for weeks.
“This is just a really great, structured activity to get the kids out there and to give them another perspective from some experts in the fishing area,” she said.
Raymond tried to explain the lure (pun intended) of fishing.
"It's pretty exciting because you never know if it's gonna be a huge catfish, small bass, big bluegill," he said. "Like, you never know, because I was fishing one day and I caught this bluegill that was about two pounds and I threw it back in and immediately this huge bass ate it."
Monica Gott
The event is run by the group Friends of Fishing.
“Our idea was to get kids, to get them out fishing, and get them outdoors,” said Randy Hall, the organization’s president.
Also, to get them away from screens.
"A lot of the people have never fished a day in their life," Hall said. "And they come out and they have a blast. Sometimes they win something and sometimes thy don't but it doesn't matter. They won because they had a good time."
“One of my favorite things is seeing a little kid catch his first fish, running around, real excited,” said club member Jason Malocha. “That’s what I’m here for.”
The kids were able use loaner fishing rods.
There were prizes for the biggest fish, and a casting contest.
Bait was donated by Slez’s Bait and Tackle in Lake Station.
