Kids' Fishing Day

Those of us who love the wild and who work with the young often think about passing along a sense of protecting the places we treasure to the next generation. There are lots of ways to instill a love of nature in the very young, but the best one I have found over the years is to put them in a beautiful spot and let them have a good time.

This weekend, our local Fish and Game Commission collaborated with two of the surrounding Forest Service Ranger Districts to host the Annual Kids' Free Fishing Day at Packer Lake, with just such a goal in mind. Local fishing experts were on hand to check out loaner equipment for the morning and give casting lessons. The Forest Service sent a handful of employees (including DH, whose job is High Country Ranger, covering the area where the lake and two dozen others are, called Lakes Basin and adjacent to the Sierra Buttes) to set up displays on fish, amphibians, plants, animals and other natural wonders. The kids were there by the dozens, having a terrific time. This post is pretty heavy on photos, but the scenery is worth it!





Here a very young boy and his grandma enjoy fishing lakeside.


Packer Lake was full of fisherpeople.


A mother teaching her toddler son the basics.


Mason is very proud of the fish her dad, Brandon, helped her catch, but she doesn't want to hold it!


There were nature craft activities, such as pressing plaster casts of animal tracks into clay rounds to take home.

A popular stop was at the fish printing tables, where fabric paints and free t-shirts and tank tops were ready for imprinting with your design.


Under that paint is a real fish, used for fish-printing.


Lifting the shirt off the fish reveals a fish print.


Several completed fish shirts. Some crafters added the date, the lake's name, a caption, or even "family reunion".


MY FO of the weekend - a fish print tank top! I like that my fish is going after bugs...


An idyllic way to spend a summer day.