Drop a Line
Department of Game & Fish hosts free fishing clinic for youngsters

Dominic Salazar reaches into a basket of catfish at Riverwalk Park in Grants Thursday. Saturday is a free-fishing day in New Mexico, no one will need a licence to fish throughout the state. [Photo by John A. Bowersmith/Independent]

By Tom Purdom
Staff Writer

GRANTS — Plans are right on schedule for Saturday's fishing clinic at Riverwalk Park, and it is all for free.

The two small lakes at Riverwalk were stocked with 1,500 Rainbow trout about 10-inches long earlier this year and a little more than a week ago the New Mexcio Department of Game and Fish stocked the lakes with about 150 Channel Catfish averaging about 17 inches each, just for the fishing clinic.

"What's great about fishing is anybody can do it," said Josephine Graf, a game and fish department fishing skills specialist from Albuquerque.

Saturday is also the National Free Fishing Day, so kids do not need a fishing license to catch tasty trout and catfish that day.

The clinic is free, and to take full advantage of the day, kids should come to the clinic with a fishing rod and reel spooled with fishing line and bait. City officials said live bait can be used in the Riverwalk Park lakes that day, but do not bother bringing minnows because they will not be good bait for the species of fish swimming in the lakes. Fat, juicy nightcrawlers (worms) are good bait to bring for trout or catfish, or some Berkley Rainbow Powerbait for trout, spinners for the trout and some chunks of beef or chicken livers for catfish.

Young fishermen and fisherwomen can buy inexpensive fishing outfits at the local fishing equipment outlet for as little as $10. Graf said it is not necessary to buy an expensive fishing outfit until the child knows that he, or she, is going to like the sport.

Graf said kids will be fed hot-dogs and sodas for lunch. They can fish while learning about such things as how to cast, how to land a fish, how to tell when a fish is biting the bait, use of different types of lures and baits, use of different types of fishing tackle. "We'll also have fish identification, a casting contest, knot tying and how to make fish-art, or Gyotaky as it is known in Japanese," Graf said, adding that kids need to bring a clean, white T-shirt for this learning adventure.

In addition, the New Mexico Game and Fish Department will be there to give talks on ethics in fishing, as well as fishing rules and regulations. Graf said young children need to learn early there are rules and regulations to follow in the sport. Members of the various law enforcement agencies in Cibola County will be at the clinic to help the kids learn about fishing, Graf said.

The clinic will begin at 9 a.m. with registration. The clinic is for children 12 years old and younger.

The registration is very important because "the Kiwanis Club of Grants has donated a lot of new fishing rods and reels as prizes for the kids," Graf said. "When each child registers he, or she, will be given a ticket. Hang on to that ticket, because the other half of the ticket will be put into a jar and at 12:30 p.m., we'll start drawing names out of the jar and the names will be the winners of the fishing equipment."

At 1 p.m. the clinic comes to a halt, but that does not mean the fun ends then. "Kids can still fish in the ponds when the clinic ends," Graf said.

In fact, young anglers need to fish the two ponds regularly because when the water temperatures rise in the ponds, the Rainbow Trout in them will die. The lakes at Riverwalk Park are open to young anglers 12 years old and under.

"Fishing is a wonderful sport," Graf said. "If you are going to enjoy doing something, why not learn how to do it correctly so you can enjoy it even more? That's what this clinic will offer."

The free clinic is open to all children in Cibola County 12 years old and under.