Chelsea hooks one of the better Sunfish

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Kids Fish Free Every Tuesday at Bay City State Park

August 23, 2012
By: Stephen Kent

It's Tuesday evening and the kids are fishing for free at the Bay City State Park lagoon. This happens each Tuesday from 5:30 to 8:30 in the evening during the summer. One of the Park staffers brings out the rods and reels, and a big bag of worms, and the kids start showing up.

This Tuesday found Gerianne Barnard manning the table. She was giving instructions, baiting hooks, and recording the catches. "We measure the fish, get the kids name, and then take a sample scale so we can show the growth rings."

When asked about training, Gerianne said that her Dad was a wildlife guy with the state and she learned most of it from him. This is just a summer job, but she really seemed to know her stuff.

For viewing the scales Gerianne had an old microfiche reader. She's take a few scales from each fish and put them on a microscope slide. "It doesn't hurt the fish. They just grow the scales back", she said. On the viewer the scale would be magnified up to dinner plate size. It was easy to see the rings and how they grew.

While we were there the line of kids with fish or needing worms just didn't stop. Everyone was having a great time and Gerianne was very busy. The fun continues for a few more Tuesdays so plan to take a kid fishing!

There were probably 30 kids and parents fishing.

"We like to cut a worm in three pieces to be sure we don't run out" said Gerianne.

Gerianne shows how to put the worm on the hook.

Austin caught a little one, but it got measured and scale tested anyway.

She wasn't fishing, but she was having fun.

Every fish and the fisherman was logged in, along with the size.

Gerianne would take a few scales and put them on a microscope slide for viewing.

The microfiche reader would blow the scale up to dinner plate size.

The resolution was great!