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There has not been a kids fishing day in Noxon for over two years due to the pandemic, but the popular event was back last weekend as families drove down to Triangle Pond for a morning of fun Parents and children had big smiles on their faces as they piled out of their vehicles, which was a pleasant surprise considering that the weather looked like it might intimidate people into staying home for the day. But that was not the case for many Montanans big and small.

Volunteers cooked burgers and hot dogs for lunch, and in a turn of events they even provided a pancake breakfast for those who came early enough to catch it. "Fish, Wildlife and Parks provided the food today except for the pancakes and breakfast stuff, Minnie's In Thompson Falls provided those for us and the Clark Fork Bass Anglers, Harvest Foods and many more people and companies helped contribute to the cause," said Wayne Phillips, who was cooking Saturday and has volunteered at the event for as long as he can remember. "We're just here to do the rest. We would really like to get attendance back up to the numbers we used to have. We are hoping to have more sponsors to help us to purchase enough fishing poles to give away to all of the kids next year. We aren't able to give every kid a pole this year."

The format for the event this year changed slightly in comparison to years gone by. It used to be a more competitive situation. In the past, kids would fish for three hours,hoping to catch the longest or heaviest fish in the pond and then at the end of that three hours, all of the fish would be measured and weighed. Whoever caught the biggest fish would win a fishing-related grand prize.

This year the derby was not a competition at all. This year it was all about having a good time fishing with your friends and family as well as helping children learn to fish. Instead of having the children compete against one another for a grand prize, all of the children registered for the event were entered into a raffle. "This year it doesn't matter if it's a big fish, little fish or no fish. It's going to be a random drawing," said Les Raynor with the United States Forest Service.

The children fished from 9 a.m. to noon, then a raffle was held. Angler-themed prizes were awarded.

Johnathan J. Gerstenberger

Volunteers from Clark Fork Valley Bass Anglers cooked breakfast and lunch for the families.

"We just want to get families and kids out here to have some fun and win some prizes. We want everyone to enjoy their fishing. We are also having another Kids fishing event at the State Park pond in Thompson Falls on June 18 and we have another ad for that currently running in The Ledger," said Jason Blakney, a fisheries biologist with FWP in Thompson Falls

All of the prizes were provided by FWP. There were around $1,000 worth of prizes given away to the up and coming anglers. FWP staff said they had just as much fun shopping for and providing the prizes as the kids who won them in the raffle. "This year is a little bit weird since we haven't had the event in two years and were looking for more sponsors to help us be able to give more prizes to the children next year. If anyone would like to donate please contact us at the Fish Wildlife and Parks office in Thompson Falls," said Abigail Maddigan, an FWP fisheries technician.