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Hook, line and fun for Kids Fishing Day

Published 4:30 am Wednesday, April 22, 2026

By Matthew Nash

Sequim Gazette photos by Matthew Nash Colin Banitch helps his son Finn, 5, reel in a trout during Kids Fishing Day with help from volunteers with the North Olympic Peninsula Chapter of Puget Sound Anglers.
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Sequim Gazette photos by Matthew Nash

Colin Banitch helps his son Finn, 5, reel in a trout during Kids Fishing Day with help from volunteers with the North Olympic Peninsula Chapter of Puget Sound Anglers.

Sequim Gazette photos by Matthew Nash Colin Banitch helps his son Finn, 5, reel in a trout during Kids Fishing Day with help from volunteers with the North Olympic Peninsula Chapter of Puget Sound Anglers.
Ollie Oliver, 10, of Port Angeles and grandpa Ray “Papa” Sydney of Sequim try to bring in a trout on Saturday, April 18 at Kids Fishing Day. Unfortunately the line snapped and it got away. This was Ollie’s second year at the event after catching two fish last year.
Colton Parker, 13, of Sequim holds up his second catch of the day at Kids Fishing Day. He comes every year, he said.
Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash/ Cole Lotzgesell, 2, fishes with his mom Allison on Kids Fishing Day. It was Cole’s first time fishing, and family members said he liked holding the pole.
Colby Martin holds the fish his stepdaughter Jordyn Staus, 7, caught during Kids Fishing Day at the Water Reuse Pond. She caught two fish last summer and this was her first in Sequim.
Annabelle Hollek, 14, of Seattle holds up a trout she caught at Kids Fishing Day on April 18. She and her family were visiting her grandpa Larry Belmont who is a volunteer with the North Olympic Peninsula Chapter of Puget Sound Anglers.
Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash/ About 2,000 trout were placed in the Water Reuse Demonstration Pond in the north side of Carrie Blake Community Park for Kids Fishing Day on April 18. Children 14 and under can fish for free and without a license into the summer.

Families circled the Water Reuse Demonstration Pond, 202 N. Blake Ave., on Saturday hoping to catch some of the 2,000 rainbow trout for Kids Fishing Day.

The 25th annual event saw volunteers with the North Olympic Peninsula Chapter of Puget Sound Anglers provide fishing rods, bait and moral support.

Club member Larry Belmont said he volunteered on Friday, April 17, to help Sequim Living Skills students fish for two hours, and on Saturday he fished with his family from Seattle.

He said his hope is that his grandchildren and others become interested in fishing through the event and have fun.

Organizers said about 500 jumbo trout were put into the pond, and 1,500 smaller rainbow trout.

Children 14 and under can fish without a license and catch up to two fish a day, according to City of Sequim officials.

The event is an ongoing partnership between the Puget Sound Anglers, City of Sequim, Department of Fish and Wildlife, and Hurd Creek Fish Hatchery.

City officials report the pond’s liner had to be replaced for a cost of $80,000 so the pond was drained and refilled a few weeks before Kids Fishing Day. More work on the liner will likely need to be completed in the fall and the pond drained again, city staff said.

For more information, call Sequim Public Works Department at 360-683-5062.

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