Young anglers were reeling them in at the pond outside the Bluewater Anglers’ hatchery Saturday in Point Edward.
More than 100 youngsters signed up for the group’s annual Kids’ Training Day where they learned about fishing and staying safe near the water.
Along with volunteers from the fishing club, the day included local firefighters and Ministry of Natural Resources representatives.
“We teach them about water safety, about conservation,” said event coordinator John Klazinga.
Groups of youngsters moved through the program between 10 am and 2 pm
Klazinga said about 20 volunteers taught them how to cast a line with a fishing rod and tie a fishing line.
“And then they get to catch a fish out of the pond,” he said.
“There’s some big ones, some small ones. If you get one it’s a bonus.”
The small pond next to the hatchery holds rainbow and brown trout where visitors can buy food from dispensers and toss it into the water through an opening in the fence.
The club has been holding Kids’ Training Day for about a dozen years to encourage the next generation of anglers, as well as promote water safety, he said.
“We have water on two sides of the city,” Klazinga said about the community’s location on Lake Huron and the St. Clair River and the need for safety training.
Saturday’s event was the first training day the club has held since the pandemic began two years ago and restrictions limited public gatherings.
“We’re pretty excited were able to do it again,” Klazinga said.
The charity, Friends of the St. Clair River, attended Saturday’s event and delivered a $5,000 donation to the club’s school hatchery program.
“We have probably a dozen schools where we put an aquarium in,” Klazinga said. “They get 30 eggs and the kids watch the eggs hatch” and feed the fish as they grow.
“It’s a pretty exciting program,” he said. “A lot of schools want to be onboard.”
In the spring, fish raised at the schools are released into local waterways along with the thousands of rainbow trout, brown trout and salmon raised by volunteers at the hatchery.
The hatchery continued operating through the pandemic with the help of a group of volunteers who spend several hours working there each day, said club president Ralph Eves.
“It was never down at all,” he said. “The guys did a real good job on keeping it going.”
The club’s annual Salmon Derby also returned this spring after being postponed for two years because of the pandemic.
Derby organizers aim to raise enough money from the event to cover half of the hatchery’s yearly operating costs.
“It was great this year – an excellent turnout,” said derby co-chairperson Paul Heckley who was volunteering Saturday.
About 1,185 or so derby tickets were sold making it “our second highest year,” he said,
“They came back good after two years of cancellations,” Heckley said. “We were pleasantly surprised with the turnout.”
Club members are still working through expenses and calculations to determine how much the derby raised but, “we should do alright,” he said.