Lake Delton Youth Fishing Jamboree Report from Dan Small Outdoors 6-8-2010
gengberg June 8th, 2010
Hi, all. Ben and I want to thank you all for pitching in to make the 1st annual Lake Delton Youth Fishing Jamboree a great success. Ben will be putting out a press release soon, but I want to share some highlights from Saturday’s event while they are still fresh.There were about 200 people in all who participated. We registered 40 young anglers, and several more joined us near the end of the morning. In addition, parents, guardians and friends helped the kids and some fished as well.
Our permit allowed us to hold the event on Lake Delton, Mirror Lake and the Wisconsin River, but after considering the logistics and liability issues, the event committee decided to have all the fishing take place on Lake Delton. Most of the kids fished from the riprap along the south and east shoreline, inside the fence. Three groups of kids and parents fished in one-hour rotations from a pontoon boat provided by Schleef’s Bait & Tackle and ably captained by committee member Gil Fenske, vice president of Walleye North America.
After a brief orientation in fisheries biology by UW-Madison Dept. of Wildlife Ecology graduate research assistant Karl Malcolm, the kids started fishing about 9:15. They caught, measured, recorded and released a total of 235 fish: 81 smallmouth bass up to 9″, 66 largemouth bass up to 9″, 37 walleyes up to 13″, 34 yellow perch up to 4″, 11 bluegills up to 5″ and 6 white bass up to 5″. The data sheets will be turned over to DNR officials, who may be interested in seeing an informal survey of fish caught and released.
Everyone appeared to have a good time. One youngster said, “This is my best day ever.” Many parents thanked the committee for holding the event and asked if it will be held again next year. Several resort owners stopped to see what was happening. One brought her granddaughter, who registered and caught several fish.
At noon, the committee fed everyone a “shore lunch” of hot dogs, chips and soda. There were smiles all around from participants, parents and committee members alike. Afterward, committee members took down the canopies provided by Gander Mountain and SportsmensCatalog.com and cleaned up any litter. Rain held off until we were finishing the clean-up.
Special thanks to all who donated items or services. If this list is incomplete, I apologize. Ben will have a complete list of sponsors in the press release: Gander Mountain stores, Preferred Beverage Distributors, Schleef’s Bait & Tackle, Walleye North America, Crestliner Boats, Sandy Beach Resort, River’s Edge Resort, Chula Vista Resort, Sportsmenscatalog.com, IronClads Soft Baits, Gary Engberg Outdoors, G. Loomis, Shimano, Take Me Fishing - RBFF, Future Fisherman Foundation, Frabill, Lake-Link.com, Wilderness Sports & Outdoors, 4-Lakes Guide Service, UW-Madison Dept. of Wildlife Ecology, Dan Small Outdoors.
Dan
Dan Small Outdoors, LLC
http://dansmalloutdoors.com
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