Free fishing weekend in W.Va.

It doesn’t take much to whet a kid’s appetite for fishing

SOUTH CHARLESTON, W.Va. — There was a time when learning to fish was almost as routine as learning to walk.  Sadly, as life has gotten busier a lot of other activities have intruded on the lazy days of wetting a line and the solitude of a stream bank education.

This weekend West Virginia tries to recapture some of the joy that comes from fishing.  Saturday and Sunday are the state’s annual free fishing days.  On those days, nobody will need a fishing line to fish anywhere in the state.

“It affords folks a chance to get reacquainted with fishing if they’ve lost touch with it,” said Brett Preston, Assistant Chief of Warm Water Fisheries for the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources. “It also provides an opportunity for folks to learn about fishing.”

Parents are encouraged to go fishing with their children.  The excitement is an easy sell for the youngsters.  Generally a tug on the end of a line by a bluegill is enough to capture the magic.  However, seeing the excitement in their eyes can also be enjoyable for parents as well.

“If we can attract families to fishing, if folks’ children want to fish the parents will likely get involved,”  Preston said. “We think that’s a good thing.”

There are ample opportunities to fish throughout West Virginia.  One of the best opportunities are small lakes and ponds at various state parks around the state.  The West Virginia State Park system has tried to enhance those chances by annually stocking channel catfish in many of those waters for the summer.  There are also hundreds of creeks, lakes, ponds, and rivers large and small all over the state providing a chance to wet a line.

Two excellent opportunities to get children involved are the fishing derbies sponsored by the West Virginia DNR.  One is at Little Beaver State Park in Raleigh County.

“We usually get about 400 kids,” said District Fisheries Biologist Mark Scott. “This is our 24th year. That makes me feel a little old because a few years ago one of the early winners in this thing brought his own kid.  But it’s all good, we try to teach them to fish, but if they get tired we’ve got other things to do as well.  It’s three hours of fun and that’s what it’s all about and it’s all free.”

A similar derby is staged every year in Randolph County on the grounds of the Bowden Fish Hatchery.   There, the agency fills several temporary ponds on the site which were originally built for fresh water fish rearing and stocks them with trout for the day.   The schedule is staggered to give the smallest youngsters the first crack at the fish.

“They get special attention.  They get the first fish and we try to feature it as a first time event.  It’s a first time fishing experience and this is a good way to work that,” said DNR Assistant Cold Water Fisheries Biologist Tom Oldham. “This is a good way to work that.  If they don’t catch a fish in their time slot, they can remain and fish in the other time slots.”

Much like the Raleigh County event there are various other activities at the Bowden fishing derby.   Volunteers there are on hand to clean the fish caught by the youngsters to take home and eat.  There’s also a catch and release pond for those wanting to try artificial lures and keep fishing after catching their limit.

Registration for the Raleigh County event starts at 9 a.m.  Registration for the Bowden event starts at 7:30 a.m.





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