Blade Outdoors

Maumee Bay rolls out red carpet for kids to go fishing

Maumee Bay State Park will host a kids-only fishing event on June 30, and when they say "host", they mean going all of the way. Kids 15 and under will be able to fish the six-acre pond at the park, which will be stocked with close to 3,000 catfish and 1,000 sunfish prior to the event. There will be free bait, fishing poles for the kids to use, and park staff on hand to help the kids bait their hooks, remove the fish, and even a fish-cleaning station to prepare the catch. The event runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Each youth fisherman must be accompanied by an adult or guardian, and that individual need not have a fishing license since they will be there to assist, not to fish. The pond also holds resident populations of bass, bluegills, catfish and crappies.

Cooley Canal Yacht Club hosts Regatta

The Cooley Canal Yacht Club on Bono Road in Curtice will host a Regatta the weekend of June 15-16. The event includes a roast beef dinner from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Friday, with live music from 8 to midnight. On Saturday, chicken dinners are served from 1 to 7 p.m. with live music from 8 to midnight. There is also a car show from noon to 4 p.m., with registration from 9 a.m. to noon.

 

 

The fishing is free in Michigan . . . but you still have to catch them

Michigan is holding its second free fishing weekend of the year on Saturday and Sunday (June 9-10) when both residents and non-residents are allowed to fish the many waters of the state without a license. All fishing regulations, along with size and catch limits, remain in place.

Michigan provides some of the best and most diverse freshwater fishing options in the country, with more than 11,000 lakes, more than 36,000 miles of rivers and streams, and more than 3,000 miles of shoreline on the four Great Lakes that border the state. Michigan also has more than 12,000 miles of trout streams.