Saturday morning at Rocky Fork Lake provided a perfect example.
The eighth annual Trout Derby would begin at 1 p.m., but many families woke up well before the sleeping sun on that beautiful spring morning. Parents and their children gathered up their rods and reels, tackle boxes, bait, chairs and the rest of their fishing gear, loaded it into their cars and trucks and headed to the lake.
Some started scouting out a good spot as early as 7:30 a.m., and by 10 a.m. - still three hours before the fishing began - the docks were pretty much filled to capacity with more than 500 children and as many or more adults.
Some families camped out at the dock and waited and had a chance to chat about fishing and about life in general.
Moms, dads and grandparents also had the opportunity to introduce their children to archery, firing shotguns and watching bald eagles nesting from afar.
It was an outdoors extravaganza.
Tim Schlater, Trout Derby coordinator and president of the Highland County Rod and Gun Club, said the event gives kids the opportunity to get a taste of outdoor sports.
"It's an outdoor field day," Schlater said. "We try to introduce kids to the outdoor sports, which include hunting, fishing and shooting. It's a lot of fun. Thanks to all our sponsors, there is no charge for any of the activities, and everyone has a great time. We start planning for this event in December, and we always want to make it fun for the kids. There are tons of fun activities, free food and drinks and prizes."
It's also a free chance for parents and their children to spend some quality time together.
When the clock struck 1 p.m., it was finally time to fish, and less than a minute or so later, children began hooking trout and winning prizes.
Their smiles were abundant - and priceless.
I watched as 3-year-old Jayden Allison, of Greenfield, hook a trout and watched as his proud father, Jason, helped him pull it out of the water.
I watched as Abigail Howard, 8, of Greenfield, hooked a trout and then hooked another a couple of minutes later, and saw Brandon Shannon, of Hillsboro, snag a fish.
I watched young Isabella McCollum fish as she chatted with her grandmother, Sharon McCollum, and I watched 6-year-old Spencer Wyckoff, 6, of Hillsboro, and his sister, Hope, 7, cast their lines as their father, Jason, assisted and gave some instructions from time to time.
And I watched as parents and children put what could be that night's main course into a bucket and perhaps the youngsters would learn a few hours later how to clean and cook their day's catch.
"It's a nice event for the kids and today is a great day for fishing," Jason Allison said. "A lot of kids are catching some fish, and that is fun to watch."
It was, indeed.
The Trout Derby, open to children 15 and under, is sponsored by the Rod and Gun Club, the Ohio Division of Parks and Recreation and approximately 25 other businesses and individuals.
More than 1,000 trout were released on Thursday, and for kids lucky enough to hook one of the 18 tagged fish, they were presented a $100 bill. Kids who caught one of the first five fish of the day also received nice prizes.
In all, a total of $1,000 in prizes were given away on the bright, sunny day.
"This was the best Trout Derby we've had in the eight years we've been doing this," Schlater said. "You couldn't have picked a more perfect day. Some years, it's raining and in the 30s. This year, the weather was terrific and the fish were really biting."
In times where cell phones, cable TV, BlackBerrys, iPods, video games and the Internet can dominate so much time for so many people, Saturday's Trout Derby provided a unique opportunity to get away from the daily routine and for parents and children to bond and learn more about outdoor sports.
If you're a parent of young child (or children) and you missed it, you missed a good time and a great opportunity spend some quality time outdoors with your kid (or kids).
But here's the good news - the Trout Derby is an annual event.
Circle the first Saturday in April 2010 - it's worth the wait.
Steve Roush is managing editor of The Times-Gazette.
