Another year, another great Free Fishing Day down at the Hagerman State Fish Hatchery. In past years, we've had 1,500+ folks come down to join the fun, this year, we had 600 folks register and many join in that did not register. Probably close to 1,000, but that's just a guess. Folks that attended could borrow fishing rods, got free bait, entered into a raffle for prizes, had a free lunch, and could compete to win the big fish prize of the day.
We were a bit nervous about how it would go since this year marked a big change from previous years. We used to let kids fish in an raceway, but it was becoming overcrowded and sometimes unruly and wasn't the best way to introduce anglers to the sport. This year, we stocked all those fish into Riley Pond, and blocked off a portion of the shoreline for kids only. Some people didn't like the change; however, most people really appreciated the shift saying "this is more like what fishing should be". Hopefully we'll still get the crowds and excitement we've always looked forward to each year.
The Fish and Game couldn't do it all themselves and had lots of help. Joe Chapman, the Hagerman State Fish Hatchery manager, spearheaded the event like he does every year. He pulled most of the strings and helped keep our event running smoothly.
The event was co-sponsored by IDFG and Us Fish and Wildlife staff from the Hagerman National Fish Hatchery. We also had staff from Niagara Springs Fish Hatchery, Magic Valley National Hatchery, Hagerman State Fish Hatchery, and Regional staff. A big showing from our enforcement staff was appreciated - a great time to just meet the folks who enforce our fish and wildlife rules.
If you have a chance, give a pat on the back to Clearsprings Foods who donated lots of 5+ lb trout for the anglers, Pepsi Cola Bottling for donating drinks, and Falls Brand Independent Meat Company for providing the great hot dogs.
Now the fun stuff! It's always great to see the new and young anglers join in and have a great time. Shawn Barsness (from Boise) won the big fish contest hauling in a 6.72 lb. rainbow trout. His smile was almost as big as the fish!
We're not sure if this was Molly Whitaker's (of Star Valley, Nevada) first fish, but she was parading around with this monster.
Charlie Purifoy of Gooding caught this nice 5.14 lb beauty. He loved the catching, but was bit unsure of the handling part.
