Barbara Lawlor, Gilpin County. It couldn't have been a more perfect Father's Day.
With 200 rainbow trout released into the Russell Fishing Pond outside of Central City, with enough of
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Barbara Lawlor, Gilpin County. It couldn't have been a more perfect Father's Day.
With 200 rainbow trout released into the Russell Fishing Pond outside of Central City, with enough of a breeze to just ripple the water, with a June sun shining, and with Tom Ihme grilling burgers, nothing was missing.
On Sunday, Father's Day, dads and their kids, lined up on the shore of the Gilpin County pond for the annual fishing clinic. Some of the children were three years old and some teenagers. They all had one thing in mind: having a day with their dads.
The winner for the day was 11-year-old Isaac Gallegos who landed two fish, one nine and a half inches and one 10 ½ inches. He's done this before.
But winning isn't everything. The atmosphere on the shore was one of serenity; the flip of the line, watching the bobber ride the ripples, the strike, the run, and then pulling a shiny, wriggling fish out of the water as your father nets it and the judge comes to measure it.
Some Gilpin residents came to the event for the first time. Kevin McCollough brought his sons Leo, 5, and Ben, 3, and showed them how to put the bait on the hook, and went to try their luck.
Mike and Zeke Keeler, grandad and dad, brought Micah, 5, who has been fishing a few times. They used Power bait which seemed to be the bait of choice for the day. Mike said they actually fish at the pond on their property, but it was more fun here.
“I mean, what could be better than this?" asked Mike. Micah said his strategy was to sit still and watch the end of the pole.
Patty Chavez, the official scorekeeper for Gilpin Adult Coed Softball as well as for the fishing clinic, said she loves the event but refuses to measure the fish because of the eyeballs.
Taylor Simmering, 8, of Lakewood tied for the biggest fish, with 10 and a half inches, but only caught one. Her father Dale said he has been coming to the event for 16 years, that it is a family tradition.
The Father's Day Fishing Clinic is free and open to anyone.
(Originally published in the June 22, 2017 print edition of The Mountain-Ear.)
