TYKES AND TROUT are meant for each other.
One is slippery, smelly and sometimes spastic. The other is a fish.
The two come together in a holy union this Saturday with the Kids Fishing Derby at Lincoln Park Ponds in Port Angeles.
The 14th annual event, which runs from 8 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., is free and open to anglers ages 5-14.
Considering the crowds that traditionally descend upon the two ponds each year, it might behoove anglers to arrive early and set up shop.
“Just don’t catch anything,” before the 8 a.m. start, Port Angeles recreation coordinator Amber Mozingo said.
“We like to give everybody a fair chance.”
Prizes will be awarded for the top eight fish in five separate age groups, beginning with 5-6 year olds and topping out at 13-14 year olds.
But cheaters beware: Volunteers on hand will be snooping around all morning, making sure to punch cards for any trout caught before the official start.
Anglers are encouraged to bring their own fishing rods and reels.
Members of the Olympic Peninsula Fly Fishers will be on hand to assist anyone in need and provide power bait.
“Usually they are old gray-haired fellas limping around . . . most of them looking for a cup of coffee,” Fly Fishers President Cliff Schleusner said.
Said Mozingo, “If you’re just really frustrated and can’t catch a fish, somehow miraculously, they get you going.”
Just make sure to keep those fly rods at home. This one is strictly a bait fishery.
“It would be impossible to have fly fishing,” said Schleusner, who estimated 400 children generally show up each year. “It would be total chaos.”
The state Department of Fish and Wildlife will stock the ponds with 800 rainbow trout 10-12 inches in size and 25 jumbos (20 inches or larger) before the event.
There’s probably a few holdovers from last year splashing around as well.
Anyone who even thinks about poaching from the pond ought to think twice.
Once upon a time, the Fly Fishers donated 50 jumbo trout to the event each year.
That had to be stopped, however, after poachers continually cleaned out the ponds beforehand.
Stealing from kids? Do you really want that kind of karma?
“It’s just human nature, I guess,” Schleusner said. “The sad thing is when you see these grown men out there fishing these kids’ ponds.”
The fly club donates money toward the prizes, as does the City of Port Angeles. Swain’s General Store provides the prizes at a discount to the city and club.
The Kiwanis Club will also provide free hot dogs and soda (Or is it pop? Or Coke?).
All participants must register before fishing at the longhouse next to the ponds.
The prize ceremony is scheduled for 10:45 a.m.
Halibut handyman
The pressure is on this halibut season.
Flatty fisheries across the Peninsula have been sliced significantly. So anglers should use all the help they can get.
Outdoor writer and videographer John L. Beath will provide just that during a couple of speaking engagements this month on the Peninsula.
That begins tonight at the Puget Sound Anglers-North Olympic Peninsula Chapter’s monthly meeting in Sequim, and is followed by a free seminar at Swain’s General Store in Port Angeles on April 30.
Beath will share halibut secrets aplenty, providing underwater footage of the flat fish in its own habitat, at both presentations.
“It was impressive last year,” said Bob Aunspach of Swain’s in Port Angeles, who saw Beath speak last year.
“He talked about the technique and what these fish see and what the right presentation is.
“It was neat to see these lures in the water. I learned a ton.”
Tonight’s meeting begins at 6:45 p.m. at Trinity United Methodist Church, 100 S. Blake Ave., in Sequim.
The April 30 presentation at Swain’s will go from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Each is free and open to the public.
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Matt Schubert is the outdoors and sports columnist for the Peninsula Daily News. His column regularly appears on Thursdays and Fridays. He can be reached at matt.schubert@peninsuladailynews.com.
