Leelanau County’s annual Kids Fishing Day, which will take place this Sunday at Veronica Valley Park in Lake Leelanau, is the biggest event of its kind in the entire state of Michigan. So says Alan Campbell, who has led the charge of organizing the event – and keeping it going – since its founding father, Pete Taylor, passed away several years ago.

Kids Fishing Day got its start in 2004, though its roots actually reach back even further. According to a tribute to Pete Taylor that appeared in a winter/spring 2020 newsletter from the Lake Leelanau Lake Association (LLLA), Pete and his wife, Mary, had moved to Leelanau County in 1989 and quickly gotten involved with the LLLA. That involvement eventually led to the creation of Kids Fishing Day.

“Mary was the first woman on the Board and subsequently did a term as president,” the LLLA tribute notes. “Pete became the chairman of the Fishing Committee. As part of this role, he became good friends with the DNR fisheries biologist of this area, Todd Kalish. The two of them worked together to get bluegills stocked in Lake Leelanau. It was actually Todd’s idea to have a Kids Fishing Day, but it was Pete who put it together.”

Though Kids Fishing Day eventually found its home at Veronica Valley Park, a 92.3-acre park with no fewer than six ponds, the inaugural 2004 event took place at Joe Vlack Memorial Park in Cedar. “It proved to be a disaster,” the LLLA newsletter recalls. “Fishermen heard of the fish planting and fished out the pond prior to the event. There was little parking adjacent to the pond for the visitors, and a ton of mosquitoes also showed up. However, the disappointing outcome did not dampen Pete and Todd’s enthusiasm for such an event.”

While Joe Vlack Memorial Park had proven to be the wrong fit, another prospect was emerging. Bill and Diane Grant, owners of the nine-hole Veronica Valley Golf Course, were looking to sell the land, which at the time had been dormant for four or so years. Taylor approached the couple about using their property as the new home for Kids Fishing Day. Per the LLLA, “the Grants were willing as long as there was liability insurance in place.”

So it was that, in 2005, the Kids Fishing Day Leelanau residents know and love was born. Taylor organized it; the DNR offered up fisheries and law enforcement support; a small army of volunteers turned up to help out; and the LLLA footed the bill.

The event went off (mostly) without a hitch. Organizers had bought enough bait and enough hot dogs for the 50-100 people they expected would show up. But some 200 community members came to Veronica Valley Park to fish. According to the LLLA, “someone had to out and get more bait and hot dogs.”

The county eventually purchased Veronica Valley in 2008 thanks to a Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund grant. 

Now two decades on from its false start in Cedar, Kids Fishing Day is bigger than ever. Campbell says the event has “no problem at all filling up Veronica Valley with people.” And while fishing is still the bread and butter for the event, Kids Fishing Day has also evolved to encompass a hands-on amphibian display, a fish-themed painting station, lessons on how to clean and fillet fish, fly fishing demonstrations, a boat wash how-to from the LLLA, and more.

Beyond simple growth, Campbell says enough time has now passed for certain aspects of Kids Fishing Day to come full circle.

“I can't tell you how many local kids learned to fish at Kids Fishing Day,” Campbell tells the Leelanau Ticker. “When I'm at these events now, somebody will always come up to me and say, ‘I caught my first fish at Kids Fishing Day,’ and they’re adults now, and they’ve got their own kids with them. This thing has been going long enough that it’s become a generational handoff, which is just so satisfying.”

That “handoff” is what makes Kids Fishing Day important to Campbell as a community event. Interest in hunting and fishing has been on a national decline for decades. By offering a family-friendly event where kids can fish free, without a fishing license, and learn the tricks of the sport from longtime enthusiasts, Campbell hopes Leelanau is doing its part to keep the culture around fishing alive.

“I don't think most people realize this, but most of the money for the DNR is provided by hunting and fishing fees,” Campbell explains. “Those funds are so important for natural resource conservation in the state of Michigan, and without it, a lot of the things that are important to people who enjoy the outdoors would go away. It’s important to get that next generation out in the in the woods and on the streams, to make sure we have a good revenue source to protect our natural resources.”

This year’s Kids Fishing Day is scheduled for Sunday (June 30) 11am-3pm at Veronica Valley County Park. More than 2,500 adult bluegills will be stocked in the park’s ponds, and while some areas will be reserved for kids 14 and under, anglers of all ages are invited to come and fish. Free hot dogs and soda will be provided – as will bait and poles for attendees who don’t have them.

Pictured: Kids Fishing Day volunteer Brian Booth posing with a pair of attendees at the event's amphibian display.