Forest preserve lets kids fish first in Wood Dale

Dozens of young anglers cast their fishing rods Saturday during the third annual Trout Fishing for Kids event, despite signs saying Grove Lake in the Wood Dale Forest Preserve won’t open for fishing until April 1.

The forest preserve wanted to give kids first crack at the 1,000 pounds of trout, crappie, large mouth bass and catfish stocked in the small lake to let them experience fishing as a form of outdoor recreation, said Don LaBrose, fishery biologist for the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County. “This is the first year that we’re doing it a week before the trout season opens up,” he said. “It’s a great way to get kids hooked on the outdoors and fishing.”

Running from 8 a.m. to noon, the event drew 55 fishers younger than 15 with their older siblings, parents or grandparents by 8:30 a.m. LaBrose said he expected about 200 kids total.

By the time 11-year-old Anna Bajorek of Wood Dale took a 9 a.m. break to warm her hands over a fire pit, she already had caught a 10-inch fish using “sparkly orange” bait.

“The trick with catching any fish is trying a bunch of different baits and figuring out which they like,” said Diane Schneider, retail events coordinator for Cabela’s in Hoffman Estates and a volunteer at the event.

She joined other volunteers from fishing organizations including the Illinois Smallmouth Alliance and Fish The Nation offering kids advice on how to use bobbers and the best ways to catch a fish’s attention.

Anna said she planned to keep the fish she caught, and LaBrose said that’s just fine — each participant was allowed to take home up to five fish along with free goodies including orange survival whistles, water bottles and floating key chains.

“You can take (the fish) home and eat them,” LaBrose said. “They do make a good meal.”