This post combines some of the best things about the state parks in Virginia, volunteers, kids and fishing.
On the first Saturday of every month May- September the Friends of Leesylvania State Park volunteers run a catch-and-release fishing tournament for kids of all ages at Leesylvania State Park.These volunteers are the best.Wil Selden and Don Fear bring all of their enthusiasm and dedication to every event. They also have more patience than kindergarten teachers and pass along a passion for fishing in Virginiato some of our youngest citizens. All equipment and plenty of advice is provided at no charge. Trophies are awarded by age category. Everyone has a great time!
At our fist Derby of the season we also had a special treat, state park volunteer, Matt Asai was on hand to photograph the event. Matt has been volunteering for two seasons now as a Park Photographer. He excels in Virginia nature photography and we are so fortunate to have him photographing our parks and events. Enjoy these pictures he took at our May event and a short narrative below from Park Manager, Ken Benson the who brought his two boys.
“So many things define Spring like baseball, flowers, seeds, tilled earth, green grass, and best of all fishing. My two son’s Conner and Matthew are in the spring of their life. One is 3 and the other is 5. On Saturday morning we went to participate in the Kid’s Fishing Tournament at Leesylvania State Park. We left home with two fishing poles and after an hour of fishing we had one. Kids that age get excited, and beyond reason, kids fishing poles are not made to float. With the help of one of the knowledgeable volunteers we were able to retrieve the pole with a final statement offered from my youngest “commission complete!”