The California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) has partnered with the Mammoth Lakes Visitors Bureau to hook kids on fishing on Saturday, July 29. DFG and the visitors bureau will host a fishing derby, the second Kid's Summer "Passport Challenge" event this year, at the 15th Annual Children's Fishing Festival in downtown Mammoth Lakes' Snowcreek Ponds, from 8 a.m. to noon.

??"While normally there aren't any guarantees of success when fishing, the High Sierra Trout Challenge fishing derby is a rare exception," said DFG Director Ryan Broddrick. "Children will not only learn how to reel in a trophy-sized trout, they can earn a special passport stamp and win a variety of prizes during our second Kid's Passport Challenge event this summer."

The combination of the Children's Fishing Festival and the High Sierra Trout Challenge provides the perfect way for children 15 years and younger to experience freshwater fishing for rainbow trout. The first 400 people to register for this free event will receive a free fishing pole and reel, thanks to a generous donation by a June Lake resident.

Along with the reward of catching fish, kids will receive a Summer Challenge Fishing Passport for their special trout fishing stamps. They will also be eligible to win a variety of prizes provided by the festival's sponsors, including event t-shirts with the logo "Get Hooked on Fishing, Not Drugs," fishing patches courtesy of Pure Fishing, and other goodies.

?Į???Į"Each year, the Children's Fishing Festival draws people from all across the county, but it wouldn't be possible without the help we get from our volunteers and our sponsors," said E.J. Rummel, president of the Mammoth Lakes Sport Fishing Association. "Our volunteers teach freshwater fishing techniques and focus on the child's overall experience to get them hooked on fishing."

This trout fishing derby is just one of the many fishing experiences California has to offer children and their families as part of California's Fishing Passport Challenge.?? "This program will give anglers of all ages the educational tools and incentives to experience the state's full-range of fishing opportunities, through pursuing more than 200 game fish and shellfish species," said Carrie Wilson, DFG marine biologist and program coordinator. "The Summer Passport program's High Sierra Trout Challenge is the perfect introduction to help these kids begin a lifetime of fishing."

The trout is one of the state's most beautiful and aggressive freshwater fish. Dozens of fishing experts will be on hand to teach children techniques for catching this prized fish, a mainstay of avid freshwater anglers. Beyond the basics of baiting, casting, and bringing in the really big ones, they will also learn about fish handling, knot tying, outdoor ethics, and California's fishing rules and regulations.

The Children's Fishing Festival and the High Sierra Trout Challenge is the second of three "sneak peak" events being held this summer as a preview for the California Fishing Passport Challenge. The first event was held in June on Santa Monica's historic fishing pier, where kids were challenged to catch nearshore fish to earn stamps for their passport. For the third and final Summer Passport Challenge, DFG has partnered with Seaforth Sportfishing for a half-day excursion of party boat fishing off the coast of Mission Bay on Aug. 21.

The California Fishing Passport Challenge will officially begin Jan. 1, 2007. A California Fishing Passport will be provided for free to anyone who buys a 2007 sport fishing license and wishes to take the Challenge. DFG will provide educational tools such as fishing maps and fish identification books, as well as various incentives, to encourage and assist people taking the Passport Challenge. Anglers will earn special passport stamps for each freshwater and saltwater fishing experience.

DFG is encouraging kids 15 or younger to sign up early for the High Sierra Trout Challenge via the Web site at www.dfg.ca.gov/fishingpassport/. Children who pre-register for the event will be eligible for a special grand prize provided by the program's supporters.

The California Fishing Passport program is the first of its kind in the nation and is supported by a host of organizations including the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation's Angler's Legacy program (www.AnglersLegacy.org), which challenges avid anglers to "take someone you know out on the water, and give back what you've been given, the great gift of fishing."