Huck Finn Fishing Festival a reel good time

Diane Knich
The Post and Courier

Aaron Lesher helps his son, Campbell, fish for the first time while his fishing buddy, Nick Walsh, offers advice.

Saturday will likely be forever etched in the memories of many children who picked up a fishing pole for the first time at the Huck Finn Fishing Festival at Colonial Lake in downtown Charleston.

Allen Goehring taught his daughters Annabella, 4, and Jacqueline, 3, how to cast with their new Barbie fishing rods at the annual event sponsored by the city of Charleston Department of Recreation. By mid-morning, Jacqueline had pulled in a little croaker.

And Aaron Lesher helped his 2-year-old son, Campbell, hold a fishing pole for the first time as they waited for a nibble on the shrimp-baited hook.

Matt Olson, environmental education coordinator for the city, said about 100 children attended the event Saturday morning, which was open to kids ages 4 to 12.

"It's just a way to get kids to come out and enjoy a morning of fishing," Olson said.

Trophies were awarded to children in three age brackets who caught the largest fish.

Kenneth Mullinax, 8, reeled in the biggest fish of the day, a 5-pound 12-ounce red drum, also known as a spot tail. That's a big fish to catch in Colonial Lake, as many fish the children caught weighed less than a pound.

Olson said city staffers "promote the catch and release thing" for fish caught in the lake. "I generally tell people not to take them home and eat them," he said.

Colonial Lake is a man-made pond connected to the Ashley River by a big drainage pipe, he said. Many fish come into the lake through the pipe.

City employees closed the pipe at high tide just before the festival so the water in the lake was high for the children who participated.

In addition to a few red drum, children reeled in croaker, pin fish, oyster toadfish and flounder.

Drayton Ford, 9, landed a 1-pound 8-ounce flounder that strained her arms when it flopped around in the net in which she held it.

Her mother, Jill Ford, said "it was a good way to spend a Saturday."

Reach Diane Knich at 937-5491 or dknich@postandcourier.com.