Family fishing day set for weekend

Kids and their folks are encouraged to gear up this weekend for the seventh annual "Family Fishing Day" at Pats Lake midday Saturday.

Put on cooperatively by the Forest Service, Alaska Department of Fish and Game and the Stikine

Sportsmen Association, the annual gathering takes advantage of special regulations geared toward young anglers. During the third and fourth weekends of June each year, children aged 15 and under are allowed to use bait while trout fishing in Pats Lake. The usual size restrictions are also waived, with participating youths able to keep up to two cutthroat trout apiece.

A popular fish to cast for in area streams, cutthroat are a particular draw for summertime visitors to the Pats Creek system. Once caught, they're worth keeping, as good for the oven or frying pan as they are the barbecue.

To encourage residents to take advantage of the regulatory exception, lunch and various activities are set up at the lakeside. The gathering was first started by the local Boy Scouts troop, eventually partnering up with USFS and ADFG. When eventually Wrangell's batch of scouts graduated, the other partners kept the tradition going.

"I thought it was a really fun event and wanted to keep it going," said Corree Delabrue, an interpreter with the USFS Wrangell office.

SSA provides funds both for the lunch and for door prizes, which are called for through the afternoon. Marine biologist Patrick Fowler from ADFG Petersburg has a station set up to construct lures, while Delabrue helps out at another where kids can decorate their own shirts.

She explained the shirt station is loosely based on Gyotaku, a Japanese artform that involves printing with fish. Well before being able to mount one's catch on the wall, fishermen would log their catches by imprinting the fish itself with ink onto paper or silk, a delicate process that yields a detailed image. Approximating this concept for a younger American audience, the process this weekend will involve rubber fish, paint and t-shirts.

Event organizers will also have some poles and personal flotation devices on hand, plus some

weighted poles to practice casting. However, supplies are short, so those having gear of their own are asked to bring it along if they plan to fish.

"People should pack how they like to fish," said Delabrue. "They should bring, if they have them, their own fishing poles and PFDs if they're going out in a boat."

People can fish anytime over the weekend, but the tents and stations will be up at Pats on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. All are welcome to attend.

"It's really all about encouraging people to get out, rain or shine," she said. "It's summertime. School's out. Just go enjoy nature."