BOZEMAN — Not only is it National Fishing Week, but Father’s Day is a week away, so what better way to celebrate than Gallatin County’s first-ever Trout Fishing Derby.
“We’re having more fun now that we’re catching fish of course, but it’s always good to be outside and have the kids learning both patience and fun," chuckled Bozeman resident David Cherry.
“This brought me back to when I was young, and I don’t think the county’s ever done one at the region park, so worked with the local community on getting sponsorships and FWP with the fish and pulled it all together so kids could enjoy a day out with their parents," Gallatin County Chief Operations Officer Nick Borzack said.
To make Saturday’s Trout Fishing Derby a reality, the county worked hand-in-hand with FWP to drop in 1,300 fish this past week, 300 of which were supersizers.
“I’ve been walking around to our tables and checking with our counters, and there’s quite a few," Borzack added. "I think we’re going to have quite a few ties unless someone catches a bigger one in the 15-inch range.”
There were cash prizes for the three biggest catches ranging from $55 to $100, but if you asked any parent that was there, teaching their kids how to fish was the real prize.
“First we put on the worm," beginning fisher Gabby explained. "Then we cast it out. We wait a little bit. We see it go doing, doing, doing, then we reel it in.”
“It’s really fun. It’s the memory-making moments that I really enjoy," added Cherry.
Families were allowed to take home any fish that were caught, but many of them released back into the lake.
“It looks like it’s been received well, so hopefully next year we’ll even expand upon it," Borzack stated.
