9am, May 21, 2008
Fishing Fun and Follies!
While I grew up more or less in the country, I am a city girl by inclination. This means that, while I don't freak out over little things like worms and at one point I could actually cast a fishing line, it has been a long, long time, and now I worry about things like getting mud on my Nikes!
So I could identify a little with each of the kids that joined us at Big Creek Fish & Aquatics on a gorgeous, sunny Saturday for our first annual Family Fishing Follies. Some of them were clearly fishing veterans (click for photo), even at age three, while others were pretty new to the sport and didn't quite know what to expect. No matter what their level of experience, though, I think everyone went home happy with the day's results.
Big Creek is a fish farm set on several acres of land in Posey Co., Ind. with about 12 ponds of varying sizes spread across the property. Three of those ponds had been stocked for us ahead of time by the owner, Bob Thiem. A good number of fish were caught by kids and adults alike in all three ponds, but the one with bluegill in it seemed to be the most productive. Our winner for "most fish caught" had a total of 15 fish, and I think they all came from that pond. The largest fish category winner was Maxine Postin, who wrestled a 22" catfish to shore fairly early on.
For some of the younger fisher-people who tired of sitting patiently near the water for a bite, we had an activity table set up on the side for anyone who wanted to make a bracelet, or bookmark, or decorate a "flowerpot." This was a pretty popular destination for the smaller girls, and some of the boys, as well.
We owe a big debt of gratitude to special group of volunteers who, while everyone else fished to their heart's content, manned the fish fryers and grill, or drove around to weigh and measure and then pick up the fish that would soon become lunch. I made a side trip with my camera to watch another group as they gutted, filleted (and in some cases, smacked with a hammer) the freshly-caught fish that were headed for the fryer. I don't eat fish myself, but after that, I was doubly glad that I was having hot dogs for lunch! I was assured by everyone who did eat the fried catfish and bluegill that it was absolutely delicious, though. Thanks to Susan Turner, Marilyn Barton and Vicky Thiem, there was also a whole table-full of traditional cook-out food to round out the meal.
We capped off the four-hour event with a brief awards ceremony and photo-taking opportunity, and then everyone went home with well-used fishing poles, full stomachs and promises to come again if we do it again next year. We're already discussing ways to improve the event a little, so we hope we'll see you there!
For more photos from our Fishing Follies event, visit our Photo Archive.
