“The flow of kids and smiles was nonstop. We could not have asked for a better day.” –Gina Rose, Kent Rose Foundation chair
BY PHILL BARNETT
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
PAINTSVILLE — Casting for Kids held two fishing tournaments for kids ages 4–18 at Paintsville Lake Saturday. The tournaments were held June 4 as part of Kentucky’s Free Fishing Weekend.
Kids aged 4–12 competed in a traditional fishing tournament, the fourth annual kids’ Casting for Kids Tournament, while teenagers were eligible to compete in the Annual Casting for Kids Kayak Tournament.
In addition to a full day of fishing, the event included inflatables, food, activities and tons of prizes for the top anglers of the day.
Last year, 145 competitors attended the kids’ tournament. This year's competition saw 440 registrants, each of whom received a rod and reel donated by the Kent Rose Foundation and Bass Legends.
Casting for Kids is a series of fishing tournaments organized by a team headed by Doug Ferguson with the help of several local business sponsors including the Kent Rose Foundation, a local children’s charity.
According to Ferguson this is the eighth year the organization has held an adult's tournament and the fourth year it has held a kid's tournament.
The two kids’ events Saturday were the third and fourth Casting for Kids tournaments of 2022, concluding the season for the organization.
The first two adult tournaments were held at Douglas Lake in Tennessee and Yatesville Lake in Lawrence County.
Funds raised by the tournaments are donated to local Shriners organizations including the Big Sandy Shrine Club, the Ashland El Hasa Temple and the Shriners Children’s Hospital in Lexington.
Ferguson expects to be able to make a donation “in the ballpark of $80,000” to the Lexington Shriners Children’s Hospital using funds raised by this year’s tournaments.
Follow Casting for Kids on their official Facebook page and website casting4kids.net to learn more, make a donation or get involved.
The Kent Rose Foundation helped organize the day on the lake and provided fishing equipment and supplies including rods, lines, buckets and bait to kids who did not have their own.
“This is the second year we have been involved,” Kent Rose Foundation chair Gina Rose said. “We came in as a sponsor last year then soon realized the event fit with nearly every goal in our mission. As soon as we were given the green light to partner in a bigger way, we were all-in with our time and resources.”
Tournament organizers were pleasantly surprised by the enormous turnout at this year’s event.
“We all hoped for a huge turnout and spread the word in every way we could but when a long line formed at the registration table at 8:30 a.m. I knew the day was off to a great start,” reflected Rose.
Between Free Fishing Weekend and the fishing equipment provided by the Kent Rose Foundation, the tournament was an opportunity open to any kid in the area who wanted to come drop a line at Paintsville Lake.
“The flow of kids and smiles was nonstop. We could not have asked for a better day,” said Rose.