Free Fishing Day a big success

JEROME - More than 600 children and hundreds of parents took advantage of the four scheduled Free Fishing Day events in the Magic Valley Region last Saturday, June 12. Not only did many of the participants catch fish but they also won fishing poles, free tackle and dined on free hotdogs. "It was a great success," said Kelton Hatch, Fish and Game Regional Conservation Educator. "We gave away dozens of donated fishing poles and over 100 donated tackle boxes. The real success was the happy kids enjoying a day on the water with their families." "Our goal was to introduce children and their parents to fishing and how much this area has to offer. With the assistance of generous sponsors and volunteers we accomplished this mission."

Businesses and groups helping the Fish and Game, included: 

-Sportsman's Warehouse, donated fishing poles and discounts or purchasing bait, hooks and other fishing equipment. 

-The Idaho Bass Hunters donated manpower and 38 fishing rods.

-Fall's Brand Meats donated 500 hotdogs.

-Pepsi and Albertson's donated some of the food items at Hagerman.

"Without all this help and the donations it would have been hard to have pulled this off," Hatch said. "As a state agency we can only do so much. The help and donations volunteers provided for these events is what really made them successful."