Sunday, May 25, 2008

Happy Birthday - Fishing Day

My dad's birthday was on Friday and we had a little get-together on Saturday. We thought it would be fun to try the Star Prairie Trout Farm. It was a great idea and we all had tons of fun.

They opened at 11am so we went there to have a little cookout for lunch and catch our supper for the night.

Matthew grilled some dogs and brats and we had some beans, potato salad and watermelon. After the BBQ lunch feast we slayed us some rainbows.

At the trout farm they provide everything and you don't need a license. We didn't even bother bringing our poles or tackle as they aren't even allowed on the premises. They set you up with poles, bait and even provide the grills, charcoal and grilling utensils if you need them. You basically go to pull up trout and take them home for supper. You do have to keep what you catch. There's no catch and release. One could very easily get carried away with the fish but, it's fresh and fun for everyone.

Grammy and Gramps helped Isaiah and Anna fish while Matthew grilled. Anna caught her first trout and was just thrilled with the whole thing.

Isaiah, having fished Canadian waters last summer, was the trout fishing professional of the day and caught the most. Did I mention you keep what you catch? We've got some trout people.

I was impressed that neither Isaiah nor Anna were skittish around the fish or the worms. Isaiah could actually bait his own hook. Anna would have if we let her.

We had a great day and I would recommend this activity to any moms that want to plan a fun Father's Day event for their families. The ponds are stocked with various sized fish so you are guaranteed a fish. One could actually call this catching instead of fishing. It's a neat way to go shopping for your dinner and I think it introduces children to the fun of fishing instead of everyone running out of patience fishing on a lake or river.

After we finished fishing the trout farm employees clean and pack up the fish so all you have to do is fire up your grill or oven at home and supper's done.

Matthew made a yummy lemon dill sauce to go on our trout with a peach chutney on the side and it was de-lish. We had mom's famous cheesecake for dessert and made some great memories to boot.

Dad caught the biggest trout so he won the prize of biggest, Isaiah the most and Anna the first.

Happy Birthday Dad!

5 comments:

Birdie said...

what fun day! Thanks for sharing the event!

Anonymous said...

I've driven by there...but never stopped. It looks neat! I am glad you guys had fun!!! It looks like there were lots of smiles.

Blessings-
Amanda

Kara Jo said...

You seem to do the funnest things with your family. :)

LadyD said...

What a great idea for Father's Day! How do they charge? Is it admission or is it per fish?
Our family would love that.....
How were the Trout? Are they a greasy fish?

Katie R. said...

Laura, there is no admission. The park grounds, grills, poles and tackle are all "free". What you pay for is the fish you catch. You are supposed to keep all the fish you catch. I'm not sure the exact price but there were three ponds available that day with different sized fish in each pond. I believe the bigger the fish the more per pound. Also, they'll clean them for you, for a fee, so you don't have to cart live fish home and clean them quick.

I linked to their website in the post so you could call them and ask more specifics on priceing.

The fish is very yummy. Not greasy at all. I've heard a couple people ask that of trout and I can't figure out why. We've had Canadian lake trout and that was never greasy and now the Rainbows from the trout farm and they weren't greasy either. Maybe it's the way we make it? I can ask Matthew what he put in the sauce he made for the fish and how long he grilled the trout.

Also, if you catch and keep a lot of trout you can freeze the ones you don't eat that day. Works just fine and I would say it keeps for about 3 mos., maybe longer.

It was lots of fun. I think Shelby could even pull out a little lunker. :)