On a bright, cloudless morning in the mountains, Nederland kids, with their parents in tow, gathered at the Children’s Fishing Pond in Chipeta Park for a unique educational experience.

Boulder County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) and Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) teamed up to host a Kids Fishing Clinic, providing area youth with the tools, knowledge, and skills needed to catch and properly handle fish.

Tyler Ansicar and Sam Peterson, CPW District Wildlife Managers for Nederland, along with BCSO Deputy Gary Robinson, loaned free fishing poles and bait to any area youth under 15 years old, as they taught the kids how to tie their fishing lines, set up the bait, and cast. And with their first successful cast into the water, the kids were hooked.

They quickly became obsessed with scanning the water for fish and finding that perfect spot along the pond to cast again. The anticipation of feeling a tug on their lines thrilled them, as the calm click-clacking of many lines being steadily reeled back in filled the air.

Ansicar, Peterson, and Robinson each expressed their joy of participating in community outreach programs like this. For CPW, the fishing clinic presents an opportunity to work hands-on with the community, allowing them to sneak in some ecological education.

Ansicar and Peterson actively taught kids how to tie an improved clinch knot, as well as educating them on how to properly handle a fish if it were to be caught – and not just for the trout that are stocked in the pond, but for bass, catfish, and sunfish as well. They also informed the kids about the food chains of different ecosystems within similar ponds.

For BCSO, Robinson spoke of how outreach like the fishing clinic provides officers with the chance to engage with the community in a positive way. Former Nederland Police Marshal Larry Johns instituted a similar program during his time serving Nederland.

Kids excitedly fished until noon, working up an appetite. Luckily, Brian Biggs of the Nederland Parks Department manned the grill and served free hot dogs to the kids and parents who attended the event.

Though the kids didn’t catch much more than moss (and the finger of a parent on one occasion), the event was a great success. Nederland youth were taught new skills, and learned to observe and understand their environment, and they all had fun doing it – thanks to the work of Ansicar and Peterson of CPW, and Robinson of BCSO.