Ted Trueblood Chapter Celebrates Free Fishing Day!

ON SATURDAY, JUNE 12, over 150 people showed to to fish and to dedicate the Lowman Nature Fishing Ponds at Tenmile Creek 12 miles east of Lowman just off Highway 21. The new ponds were constructed by the Boise National Forest and Idaho Department of Fish and Game. This area previously was little more than a borrow, but with some hard work from the two agencies and some funding from the Sport Fish Restoration program the area was transformed into an alternative fishing area.

Ted Trueblood Chapter volunteers and Idaho Fish and Game's Regional Fisheries Manager Dale Allen put on a Kids Fishing Clinic at 9:00 a.m. We were overwhelmed with the turnout, but luckily almost everyone brought their own gear and already knew how to use it. In fact, some Trueblood members were all thumbs when it came to threading a worm on the snelled hooks. Many of us lead a sheltered existence with artificial flies and lures!

By 11:00 a.m., just over 100 people were counted fishing around the two one-acre ponds. Fishing, however, started out slow. Another 75 were observing, milling about, or preparing for the Dedication and Awards Ceremony. As the hour wore on, the fishing picked up, with a couple of double and triple hookups observed.

The dedication ceremony came off very well, thanks to the organization of Jennifer Jones, Public Affairs Officer for the Boise National Forest. Self-contratulatory speeches and plaques were passed around, (appropriately so given the work that went into the project), and the highlight was the Lowman School kids singing the state song "Here We Have Idaho," and then everyone joining in on "God Bless America."

We promptly adjourned the ceremony, and at 12:00 noon the kids made a mad dash for the catered lunch, courtesy of the Ted Trueblood Chapter.