4-H Fishing Workshop held at Cross Lake

The Clearwater County 2016 4-H Fishing Workshop was held at the Cross Lake Campground on Saturday and Sunday, June 4th and 5th. Cross Lake has provided the perfect local venue for this event over the years with its expansive fishing pier and comfortable camping area layout. Camp Host Glenn welcomed the 4-H campers, parents and adult volunteers Saturday morning to the now-familiar tent camping area on the south side of the campground. Campers enjoyed great weather for the duration of the event even with a short, refreshing sun shower. After a kickoff potluck, the campers gathered for the 4-H education that was planned. MN DNR Intern Nicholas Peterson presented hands-on and practical informational on fish families, including MN fishing regulations and good fishing sportsmanship. Nicholas monitored the afternoon’s initial round of fishing, visiting with the 4-H’ers on the three piers and the shore, as well. Supper was fire-roasted hot dogs with more pot luck sides and dessert. The evening's fishing continued for some campers until sundown. The campsite filled up again for s'mores, desserts and campfire fellowship. Sunday morning dawned with picture perfect weather, with some campers down on the fishing pier a little after 5:00 am. A hot meal of breakfast sandwiches with country potatoes prepared the campers to break camp and head out for the final round of catch-and-release fishing before the traditional fish fry lunch. Prizes were given from local Bemidji business such as Northland Tackle, L&M Fleet Supply and Gander Mountain for fish catching and sportsmanship. Vernon's Custom Woodshop of Bagley provided four cartons of night-crawlers and four cartons of leeches for fishing bait, which kept the 4-H fishers' hooks and bobbers busy.

REMINDER: The registration for the July 8-10 (Friday-Sunday) Crow Wing River Canoe float trip is ongoing. The two-night, three day outing works from a comfortable base camp near Sebeka, and is a great experience for both new and experienced canoers and campers. Registration is due no later than Monday, June 27th at 4:30 pm.