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76 °F Forecast | Road Cams Saturday, June 19, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Prime Times Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Rogue Valley's Finest EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend June 10, 2004 Event aims to be family friendly Free Fishing Weekend to abandon competitive nature for low-key fun Outdoor Journal By MARK FREEMAN Mail Tribune Once home to the largest Free Fishing Weekend event in the Northwest but later plagued by rowdiness and cheating, Lake Selmac will be home to a smaller — and, hopefully, kinder — event Sunday that will highlight trout over trophies. State and county agencies will team with volunteer groups to hold the new-look Free Fishing Weekend at Lake Selmac, where they hope kids can enjoy a low- key and non-competitive day of angling Sunday. Recent years’ events there were plagued by public drunkenness, rowdy behavior, thefts and kids cheating to win biggest-fish prizes offered by the Caveman Kiwanis Club, which dropped sponsorship this year. This year’s event won’t have the contests, and organizers hope that will help the ugly side of past events disappear as well. "We’re not going to do any competition, and I think that’s what brought out the worst in people," says Chuck Fustish, an Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist organizing the weekend’s events in Jackson and Josephine counties. Advertisement "This will put the kids there to fish and not trying to out-compete each other with mom or dad’s fish or one they caught last week," Fustish says. Most Free Fishing Weekend events across Oregon are scheduled for Saturday, but the Lake Selmac event — the only one planned for Josephine County — will be from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday. Also, the event no longer will be focused around the concrete boat ramp. A wedding is planned Sunday for the gazebo area nearby, so this year’s event will center around the fishing docks near the Josephine County Parks Department area on the opposite side of the lake. The extra rainbow trout stocked for the weekend will be released there as well. "I think that’s a better place to have it, anyway," Fustish says. "The kids can spread out more." For years, Lake Selmac outside of Cave Junction sported the Caveman Kiwanis Club’s All-American Kids Free Fishing Derby, and the line of kids who took part was just as long as the event’s name. More than 1,000 kids flocked to the shallow reservoir in the Illinois Valley for the event, which included everything from loaner rods and First Fish certificates to free food and prizes galore. But the Kiwanis soured on the event in recent years, marked by regular cheating and bad behavior by kids and adults. After 16 years of affiliation, the Kiwanis dropped sponsorship in April, citing a concern over liability. Michael Strahan, superintendent of the county’s parks, says he agrees with the Kiwanis’ decision. "It really was getting out of hand," Strahan says. "It really ticks me off when the bad people spoil it for the good." So the ODFW and the county parks department teamed to fill the void this year. There will be some loaner rods and reels for kids, and some help from the Middle Rogue Steelhead Chapter of Trout Unlimited. But the free food will give way to "fee food." "Quite frankly, we don’t know what to expect," Strahan says. "We just hope people realize this is not a competition. It’ll be billed strictly as family recreation." Strahan hopes a community group such as the fledgling Selma Community Center adopts and organizes future events. Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 776-4470, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S RESOURCES Oregon Road Conditions & Cams SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Food for Thought Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities Prime Times