Anglers covered the shorelines at Veterans’ Memorial Park on Saturday, June 11, as Boulder City hosted the Southern Nevada free fishing day event.
Free Fishing Day is an annual event put on by the Nevada Department of Wildlife. All 300 available spots in this year’s event were filled by the time it started at 8 a.m.
“Today was amazing,” senior angler education coordinator Abbey Czarnecki said. “We had no registrations left this morning. Full shorelines, tons of groups, it was awesome.”
Before the event, 10-year-old Gianne Rae Olea was named the winner of the poster contest and was awarded with a brand-new fishing pole.
“I was really surprised,” Gianne said of being named the poster contest winner. “My dad was called by my school and when he told me I was really in shock and really happy.”
Gianne is just beginning to fish in real life after having a successful fishing career in the video game Animal Crossing.
In addition to raffle giveaways, members of the NDOW, such as Czarnecki and Conservation Education Supervisor Doug Nielsen, were teaching people equipment safety, how to properly tie hooks and how to use their fishing poles.
“We like to offer Free Fishing Day as an intro to fishing,” Czarnecki said. “A nice, safe space for new beginners to get out with friends and family to try fishing.”
Blacks in Nature, a group created by Roz Brooks, had nearly 30 members in attendance. Their goal is to get more African-Americans outside and enjoy what nature has to offer.
“I think what’s drawing everyone out is people want to be outdoors,” Brooks said of the amount of members at the event. “I think so many people that hadn’t fished was like, ‘You know what, this is my opportunity.’”
Blacks in Nature can be found on social media websites.
The next free fishing day for Nevada will take place in June 2023. You can check for updates and more information about Nevada wildlife by going to NDOW.org.
Contact Danny Smyth at dsmyth@pvtimes.com and follow @the_dannysmyth on Twitter.