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SOO. MICHIGAN NEWS RELEASE ************************ Kids fishing pond opens after noon on Saturday SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich.
FIshy

SOO. MICHIGAN NEWS RELEASE

************************ Kids fishing pond opens after noon on Saturday

SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. - Just after noon on Saturday, June 5, hundreds of area young anglers will cast lures and bait with the hope of catching a big rainbow trout in Sault Ste. Marie's new Kids Fishing Pond at Rotary Park.

Ceremonies to open the pond, featuring speakers from the City of Sault Ste. Marie, Soo Area Sportsmen's Club, Lake Superior State University and others, will begin at noon on Saturday.

Immediately following, the first shipment of rainbow trout will be released into the pond and kids 16-under will be welcome to go after them. The pond, a project that took five years of work by the city and Soo Club to bring to fruition, will be open daily according to rules to be posted by the city at the site.

It was created by dropping a 'blocker' net on the downstream side of the lagoon between Rotary Park and the mainland to keep the fish from swimming into the river.

The enclosure will be more than doubled in size for the club's annual Connor Gorsuch Kids Fishing Day, which will be held on the last Saturday in July. "A lot of people have been confusing this Saturday's pond opener with our Kids Fishing Day," said Roger Greil, president of the Soo Sportsmen.

"On that day, we provide bait, food, prizes and as many rods and reels and we can get. "This Saturday, and any other day except on Kids Fishing Day, kids will need to bring their own bait and tackle," he continued.

"We will have a bit more than two dozen rod-and-reel combos to give away, but we're encouraging kids to bring what equipment they may have."

Greil said sportsmen's club members would be on hand to help out kids and their parents, if they need assistance. "Since we've announced this, the community response has been very gratifying to see," Greil said.

"It's really exciting, and every day I'm surprised to get more donations or offers of assistance."

Greil said many community groups, businesses and individuals have donated funds or equipment or labor, including the St. Mary's River Sportsmen's Club, Sault Tribe of Chippewa Indians, Edison Sault Electric Company and many more.

Soo Welding has volunteered to weld a grate on the culvert that feeds the upstream end of the pond, and Babcock Electrical has offered to wire the floodlight that will illuminate the area and the net that will remain in place through the end of September. While the Soo Club and the city have been the prime movers and shakers in this project, Greil noted that it wouldn't be possible without the assistance of many others.

"Really, if we didn't get such generous support from community businesses, organizations and individuals for all of our other activities, including our Salmon Slam, Walleye Jamboree and Kids Fishing Day, we wouldn't be able to go forward with this project," Greil said.

"All of our sponsors have assisted in this endeavor." Speakers during Saturday's brief ceremony before the fishing begins will include Sault Ste. Marie Mayor Anthony Bosbous, LSSU President Betty J. Youngblood and Greil.

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David Helwig

About the Author: David Helwig

David Helwig's journalism career spans seven decades beginning in the 1960s. His work has been recognized with national and international awards.
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