The Moline Conservation Club, Second Responders and Crime Stoppers are hosting their annual Kids’ Fishing Rodeo on Saturday, June 4 from 8 a.m.-12 p.m. at Riverside Park Lagoon, 3300 Fifth Avenue in Moline.
Richard Ehen with the Moline Conservation Club is excited about the return of the Rodeo. “We haven’t had it in two years because of Covid, but in the prior year we had 150 kids, they just came out of the woodwork. It’s a good community event.”
Modern Woodmen is providing a lunch of hot dogs and pop for participants. There will be a casting contest where kids can win prizes, including bicycles, in divisions for boys and girls.
The Rodeo is open to kids ages 5-15 because no fishing license required for them. Only persons ages 16 and over need to have a fishing license under Illinois law. A parent or guardian is required to be with participants, who are advised to bring fishing poles, tackle, bait, a positive attitude and smiles.
Advanced registration isn’t necessary, says Ehren. “We just want them to show up and fish.” The fishers don’t even have to leave their lucky spots to take their catches to be weighed. “People will be out with buckets of water to put the fish in and walk them to the weigh stations.”
The Rodeo means as much to Ehen as it does to the kids who attend. “People come up to me on the street and say, ‘You taught my grandchild how to fish’.”
For more information, email Ehen at outdoorshappens1@gmail.com
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