Youth Fishing Day casts a net on fun

In an effort to promote safe and fun activities for children, the North Carolina Forest Service, Tuttle Education Sate Forest and the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission joined forces Saturday to host the Youth Fishing Day at Tuttle Education State Forest.

“We wanted to get kids involved in fishing,” said Scott Leatherwood, Supervisor of Tuttle Education State Forest. “We wanted to just have a fun day of fishing.”

The mission was definitely accomplished, with the attendance of many first-time anglers.

Brothers Jaxon Barlow, 5, and Killian Barlow, 4, enjoyed making some of their first catches with their dad, Jason Barlow, at the Youth Fishing Day. With their “Transformers” and “Cars” fishing poles in hand, the boys deemed their first fishing trip a success.

“The one (fish) that Killian caught, now that was a fight,” Jaxon said.

Three-year-old Madison Yates was on her first fishing trip as well. Victory was sweet when Madison caught a 5-inch Blue Gill with the help of her dad, Mark Yates. As of 10:30 a.m., Madison held the title of “smallest fish caught.” Final results of the largest and smallest fish contests were unavailable.

To make the Youth Fishing Day a little more interesting, the N.C. Wildlife Resource Commission stocked one of the two ponds for the event with extra fish.

“We put some real tackle busters in there to give them some fun,” said Bob Brown, a biologist for the N.C. Wildlife Resource Commission. Brown said that approximately 300 catfish were brought in for the event.

It was Conner Hyatt, 6, and his dad, Greg Hyatt, who were able to have some fun with one of those “tackle busters” when Conner pulled in a 26-inch catfish, which he was allowed to keep as a souvenir.

According to event officials, Conner's catch was the largest as of 10:30 a.m.

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