More than 400 young anglers got hooked on trout fishing at Kids Free Fishing Day at Bennett Spring last Saturday. Kids ages 5 to 15 participated in the event where lots of rainbow trout were caught during the day, including a few lunkers.
 
Hatchery manager Ben Havens said, “Everything went well, even the weather. We couldn’t have picked a better day for this event. We had a lot of kids that were 15, so this was their last year for them to participate, and they wanted to take advantage of it. By 9:15 we had more than 400 kids registered, and there will be more coming along all day.
 
"We had kids from Kansas City, St. Louis, Oklahoma, Illinois and Arkansas, as well as many Missouri communities. There were a lot of new faces this year. A section of Zone 2 and 3 at the park was reserved for the young anglers. It has been a fun day for the kids, parents and grandparents.”
 
Steve Gagliano, attending the event with family, said, ”It was really very good. The kids had a ball; I saw lots of fish caught; they had a perfect day for the event. This is a very nice program for the kids. I hope it will continue for a long time.”
 
One of the grandfathers, Ron Lock, was kept busy helping his grandkids net their catch. He said, “The family comes down for a fishing trip where the kids catch the fish, we clean them up and have a big fish fry in the campground. I want to thank the Missouri Conservation Department for their support for the young fishermen coming up. This has been a great day all around.”
 
At Kids Free Fishing Day, children ages 15 and under have the opportunity to catch fish and learn about trout fishing at Bennett Spring State Park.
 
Volunteers were on hand to help the kids. Parents were encouraged to help, but adults were asked to let the children fish by themselves as much as possible. Only one pole could be used between the helper and child. Adults are not allowed to fish in the kids' designated fishing zones.
 
Lunch was provided and educational events also took place from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
 
Don Taylor and wife Ruth were visiting relatives in Lebanon last weekend. They drove over to nearby Bennett Spring to watch the youngsters fish. Taylor said, “I wish we had a stream like this near Tulsa so I could take my grandkids trout fishing. Everyone we saw looked like they were having a great time. It looked like the adults were enjoying it as much or more than the youngsters.”
 
The next Kids Free Fishing event will be held May 14 at Roaring River State Park. For more information on the Roaring River event, call the Roaring River Hatchery at 417-847-2430.