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Sunshine and clouds mixed. High 93F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph.
Mostly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 62F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph.
Scattered thunderstorms developing during the afternoon. Heavy and torrential downpours at times. High 81F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 40%.
First-graders Wes Marney, left, and Kieran Bellika watch their bobbers intently while fishing at Wilson Ranch Wednesday, June 2, 2021. The Bighorn National Forest will partner with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department and Trout Unlimited for an annual Kids Fishing Day at 9 a.m. June 25 at the pond at the Porcupine Ranger Station, located off of Highway 14A near the Medicine Wheel.
Brody Nash, left, and Gavin Gorzalka, right, celebrate Daniel Lobdell, central, catching his first fish of the day at Wilson Ranch with the Big Horn Lions Club Wednesday, June 2, 2021. The Bighorn National Forest will partner with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department and Trout Unlimited for an annual Kids Fishing Day at 9 a.m. June 25 at the pond at the Porcupine Ranger Station, located off of Highway 14A near the Medicine Wheel.
First-graders Wes Marney, left, and Kieran Bellika watch their bobbers intently while fishing at Wilson Ranch Wednesday, June 2, 2021. The Bighorn National Forest will partner with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department and Trout Unlimited for an annual Kids Fishing Day at 9 a.m. June 25 at the pond at the Porcupine Ranger Station, located off of Highway 14A near the Medicine Wheel.
Brody Nash, left, and Gavin Gorzalka, right, celebrate Daniel Lobdell, central, catching his first fish of the day at Wilson Ranch with the Big Horn Lions Club Wednesday, June 2, 2021. The Bighorn National Forest will partner with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department and Trout Unlimited for an annual Kids Fishing Day at 9 a.m. June 25 at the pond at the Porcupine Ranger Station, located off of Highway 14A near the Medicine Wheel.
DAYTON — Every summer, representatives from Wyoming’s many state agencies work together to encourage kids to get outside.
The Wyoming Game and Fish Department has its “Inspire a Kid” initiative, which aims to introduce youth to the outdoors by providing resources for families to teach their children how to enjoy outside activities, whether they are fishing, hunting, wildlife photography, hiking or other adventures. There is the Wyoming Outdoor Expo, youth hunts, kids fishing days, hunter education and summer camps.
There is a downloadable checklist of 100 outdoor activities “everyone should do in the Cowboy State” available online, with scratch-off spaces for things like call a duck, have a snowball fight in summer, listen for bugling elk and teach a friend to fish.
According to the National Recreation and Park Association, children across the nation spend less time outdoors today than any other generation, devoting only four to seven minutes to unstructured outdoor play per day while spending an average of seven and a half hours in front of electronic media. But, the NRPA said, time spent outdoors improves children’s health and brings balance to their lives.
This summer, the Bighorn National Forest will partner with the WGFD and Trout Unlimited for an annual Kids Fishing Day at 9 a.m. June 25 at the pond at the Porcupine Ranger Station, located off of Highway 14A near the Medicine Wheel.
“We want kids to be interested in outdoor recreation, and fishing in particular,” Sara Kirol, Bighorn National Forest public affairs officer, said. “It’s a lifelong activity people can do, young, old, and it is something that people can enjoy throughout their lives.”
Everyone younger than 13 will have to have an adult with a valid license with them, Kirol said. Participants will also need to follow regulations or creel limits for the area.
The WGFD regulations include creel and possession limit of six trout in combination including brown, cutthroat, grayling, golden, rainbow, salmon, tiger trout and other trout hybrids. The creel limit excludes brook trout, lake trout and splake. All children 14 and older are required to have a fishing license. Thirteen and younger do not need a license if they are a resident, and if they are a non-resident, the parents of the child 13 and younger must have a fishing license.
The pond at the ranger station is stocked with Yellowstone cutthroat trout by WGFD.
“We’ve held the event here for many years, and it is a really nice location. It is easy to get to, and you can walk around the pond and fish,” Kirol said. “It is a really pretty location with a nice meadow, and sometimes we even have moose come through.”
Each year, the WGFD designates the first Saturday of National Boating and Fishing Week — this year June 4 — as a free fishing day.
The Bighorn National Forest holds its annual event later in the summer for practical reasons.
“This area doesn’t open that early. Porcupine is not usually accessible, and the roads still have quite a bit of snow in early June, so we do our event later in the season,” Kirol said.
The event is free but participants are encouraged to bring their own equipment.
There will be some extra equipment on site for children without their own. Volunteers from the U.S. Forest Service, Trout Unlimited and WGFD will be present to answer questions, help children tie knots, to explain casting techniques and to talk about the fish ecology, conservation and habitat.
“It is a really fun event,” Kirol said. “Do prepare for mountain weather. Bring layers, food, water, sunblock and a good hat. Participants are asked to bring their own fish tackle, and if someone wants to take fish home, bring a cooler.”