53 kids catch 199 pounds of ‘cats’ at kids fishing day
Published 3:00 am Tuesday, June 21, 2016
There are buddies and then there are good buddies. A good buddy takes a kid fishing. Eliza Lampley, left, is the good buddy of Isaiah Lampley.
Denver Thomas and his dad, Edward, looked forward to Pike County Kids’ Fishing Day every year. It was a Father’s Day weekend tradition of doing what they enjoyed most, going fishing together.
This year was different.
At Kids Fishing Day on Saturday, Denver stood at the water’s edge, casting and reeling. Behind him was an empty chair. His dad’s chair.
Edward Thomas was a cancer victim. He died in January.
“Denver asked me this morning if he could take his daddy chair along,” Nancy Thomas said. “He set up the chair right where Edward would have been sitting and put a picture of him in the chair. Kind of like Edward is here with us.”
Denver just didn’t want to go fishing without his dad.
“This big one,” he said pointing to a three-pound plus catfish. “This one, I caught for my daddy.”
Denver Thomas and his dad, Edward, were regular fishing partners at Kids Fishing Day. Edward Thomas died in January but his son is keeping his memory alive. He placed his dad’s picture in an empty chair at Kids Fishing Day Saturday.
Fifty-three kids registered for Pike County Kids Fishing Day at Clay Hill Farms on Saturday. And, thanks to the efforts of a lot folks, 53 kids will have a story to tell about “going fishing” with someone special in their lives.
Since Austin Turner was knee-high to a grasshopper, Kids Fishing Day has been a tradition for him and his granddad, Eddie Turner. Austin does most of the fishing and his granddad “chews the bait.”
For Austin Turner, his story will be about fishing with his granddad, Eddie Turner. For Isaiah Lampley and Syncere Hobdy their stories will be about an older buddy, Eliza Lampley, who took the time to bait their hooks and net their fish. Fifty-three kids; 53 stories.
John Kent’s grandchildren, Taylor and Will Kent, took him fishing for Father’s Day. Taylor caught two fish or maybe it was six. Or, perhaps, it was Will who caught six and she, the two. Either way, granddad had eight fish to fry.
Conservation Officer Jerry Jinright said that going fishing is more than “the one that got away.” It’s about relationships that are fostered and strengthened when people go fishing together.
“And Saturday was a great day for fishing,” Jinright said. “It was cloudy and not too hot. The fish were biting. It was an all-around, great day for fishing at Clay Hill Farms.”
The kids caught 199 fish that weighed 198 pounds.
“Some kids caught the limit which was 10 fish,” Jinright said. “We gave prizes for the kid who caught the heaviest stringer of fish in each age group. Denver Thomas, in the 13 to 15 age group, had the heaviest stringer in all three age groups. He had 10 fish that weighed 21 pounds and 10 ounces.”
McKenzie Eutsey was the winner in the nine to 12 age group with 10 fish that weighed 11 pounds and 2 ounces. Jaysia Stringer, in the five to eight age group, matched Eutsey with 10 pounds of fish that also weighed 11 pounds and 2 ounces.
Walmart donated two $50 gift certificates toward the purchase of bicycles. A drawing was held for the gift certificates and the winners were Malaysia McCullough and Joannce McClure.
A lot of other prizes were given away and all the kids went home with smiles on their faces, Jinright said.
The fried chicken dinner was sponsored by Walmart and enjoyed by all.
Jinright expressed appreciation to John and Carol Dorrill for their hospitality for, once again, hosting Kids Fishing Day at Clay Hill Farms and to the members of the Pike County TREASURE Forest Association for their assistance is setting up and carrying out the annual event.
The day of free fishing fun for kids is sponsored by Walmart, the Alabama Conservation Enforcement Officers Association and the Alabama Wildlife And Freshwater Fisheries Division. The event is partially funded by the Federal Sport Fish Restoration Program.
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