Pint-sized piscators

The forecast for Saturday Jan. 12 was one of clear skies and plenty of sunshine. That morning, however, was the exact opposite as a chilling fog had moved into the Valley overnight. Despite the cold and foggy morning, both children and adults gathered on the 16 inch thick ice at Treasure Island pond, usually visible from Highway 230, for Mother Mountain Anglers' (MMA) 3rd Annual Kid's Ice Fishing Clinic.

Adolescent anglers, and their parents, listened closely as Biff Burton, game warden with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD), explained the dangers of ice fishing and offered survival tips if they should fall through the ice: tell people where you're going, don't take off your clothes if you fall through, go back the way you came because the ice will be thicker.

Following the short presentation, approximately 20-30 kids stood in line to receive their ice fishing equipment. With gear in hand, the pint-sized piscators headed out further on the ice to pre-drilled holes where they waited patiently for their parents, or other adults, to get them set up.

The Saratoga Ice Fishing Derby is the third week in January, so, for the past three years, the Kids' Ice Fishing Clinic has been held the second week to get kids, and their parents out on the ice and give them some education about ice fishing.

"That's kind of the idea, is we get these kids out and teach them a little bit of something, give them a rod, and that way they're prepared for the ice fishing derby. That was the whole idea behind doing that," said Josh Craig, co-founder of MMA.

The decision to involve the WGFD was there from the very beginning. MMA extended an invite to Burton in 2017, but the game warden was unable to make it due to scheduling conflicts.

"Teal Cufaude came the first year and she did an excellent job," Craig said. "So, every year the Game and Fish has been involved and we've kind of built a partnership where I think, every year from now on, they'll be involved, too."

While he was unable to make it the inaugural year, Burton has been present at the following two clinics to help MMA with their goal of educating people.

"The field people with the Game and Fish know how important it is because we're members of these communities. We see visitors, we see new people to our state that maybe weren't exposed to these things where they came from," said Burton.

Before long, the sun burned away the early morning fog to reveal an ice-blue sky and the snow-covered top of Medicine Bow Peak. It didn't take long for the fish to bite. Excited parents coached their kids on reeling in their catch while getting their phones ready to capture the moment. Sometimes the fish managed to get away and other times the kids managed to bring them in. When they were successful, the parents took photo after photo before returning the trout to their world beneath the ice.

"Somehow, all three years we've done this we've had a day like this. Not usual Wyoming January weather," said Craig. "The fish gods are smiling on us for this day."

The weather, and the WGFD, aren't the only things that have cooperated with MMA on putting together the clinic the past three years. Local businesses such as Hack's Tackle, the Trading Post and Riverside Garage have donated equipment for the event, a grant from the Carbon County School District No. 2 Recreation Board helps fund the clinic and the Silver Spur grants permission for MMA to hold the event on property belonging to the ranch.

"Colton Miller (Silver Spur Operations Manager) is the guy we really have to thank for us being out here," Craig said. "We all grew up in Encampment. So Colton Miller is, like, the second manager now and Colton's been the one that has worked with us on this. He was the one that actually approached Mother Mountain and was like 'If there's anything we can do for you, the Silver Spur would like to do that' and it's just one of those things, it's a network because we all grew up here."

Some of the kids, tired with waiting for a bite, handed their poles over to their parents before going to play in the snowy banks of the pond. While the children played with each other, the adults talked, laughed and smiled.

"It really is like a community, family, event and it's cool. It's nothing we planned, it's just something that happened because we are fortunate to live in a strong community," said Craig. "It's not like we're doing it. It's everyone. "We facilitate it, but everyone else makes it happen. It feels good just to be out here with all these people. It makes you proud of where you're from and where we live and the people we have here."

Amid all the action, members of MMA walk from hole to hole offering bait to those still fishing or scooping out the ice beginning to form on the surface. They stop from time to time, though, to talk and to laugh. It was a perfect example of MMA's mission statement; the preservation of nature and community through the shared love of fishing.

"I think today demonstrates that perfectly," Craig said.