Children looking to land a whopper from the banks of Morgan Lake will have their chance Saturday morning.
The annual Kiwanis Take Me Fishing event begins at 9AM at Morgan Lake in Nichols Park. Children between the ages of 3 and 15 can enjoy the event.
The children will be divided up into 4 categories, and awards based on the total inches of the fish caught will be tallied. Awards will be given to the Top 3 in each age group. There is no cost to enter. Participants should be accompanied by an adult, and all participants will receive a gift. Top 3 finishers will be announced at 11AM.
Kiwanian Jared Maggart says not to worry if you don’t have a fishing pole or tackle or if you’ve never put a line in the water – there will be plenty of help: “We’ve actually had some good help over the years with the Routt Bass Fishing Team and JHS’s Bass Fishing Team. Both of those groups have been good to us if they are able to get there and help. If you’re not getting younger kids out there with a line in the water and helping them as a mentor, you’re not building your sport so it’s good for them to be out there doing it with us. The younger ones see the older kids helping out so it kind of trickles down, so to speak.”
Maggart says there are a number of people in the Jacksonville community to reach out to if you’d like to sign your child up for the event: “You can contact Forest Keaton by giving him a call at 473-7286 or you can also call Tom Glossop at 371-2253. You can also talk to any Kiwanian you may know. We are approachable and out in the community for various things all the time. You can also call me or come see me at the Jacksonville YMCA, my email is jmaggart@jacksonvilleymca.org. We will all get you to the right spot.”
Registration forms can be found on the Jacksonville Kiwanis Facebook Page. A photo booth will be available. If you’d like pictures, please bring your cameras.