Past Events: Kid's Summer Challenge

High Sierra Trout Fishing!
July 29, 2006

High mountains, clear skies, and ponds teeming with hungry trout awaited young anglers at the second "Kid's Summer Challenge" in gorgeous Mammoth Lakes in the High Sierras. DFG teamed with the annual Children's Fishing Festival for this event, presenting Kid's Summer Challenge passports to festival participants, along with free fishing poles donated by an anonymous local resident, and loads of other goodies!

Over 700 young anglers picked up a rod to catch an Alper's (rainbow) trout in ponds specially stocked for the event, earning their first freshwater fish stamps in the process. Some youngsters even caught their very first fish at this event, earning certificates of recognition for their accomplishment!

The Mammoth Lakes Sport Fishing Association ran the event, helping young anglers rig their poles, bait their hooks, and land the feisty trout. Afterwards, Sport Fishing Association volunteers cleaned the trout and sent anglers to the DFG booth for their passport stamps. United Anglers of Southern California was also on hand to help new anglers land a "big one," and DFG Director Ryan Broddrick even rolled up his sleeves to help clean a few trout!

Actor Christopher Atkins, a long-time fisherman and supporter of the Fishing Passport program, visited with event participants and announced the winners of the Passport event drawing. Prizes for pre-registered participants included a filled tackle box, a lifejacket, and an "Aqua-Zooka" water cannon, donated by West Marine, a Fishing Passport Program sponsor. Alpen Optics rounded out the prizes by donating a top-quality spotting scope and a pair of camouflage binoculars, as well as 25 compact monoculars awarded in a separate drawing.

The three Kid's Summer Challenge events being held this summer are all "sneak peak" preview events of the full California Fishing Passport program set to officially launch on January 1, 2007.