Catch of the day at Take a Kid Fishing? One water rat.
Squeals and cheers erupted among 140 young anglers as Alexandra lads Blake Gillam (12) and Dylan Gale (8) triumphantly netted the catch at the annual children's fishing event yesterday.
The boys spotted the rat late in the three hour fishing festival, held at Summerfruit Orchard's Earnscleugh dam, and abandoned their fishing rods for a net while hunting the rodent.
''We were chasing it from one side of the pond to the other and it swam across to the other side, '' Dylan said. ''We knew where it was because we heard girls screaming.''
The boys finally closed in on their prey and Blake netted it, much to the delight of the surrounding anglers. An adult killed the rat for them and as the clock was counting down, the boys ran off quickly to register their catch with the contest organisers.
It was their only haul for the morning but the hunter gatherers were pleased with their efforts, screwing up their faces at the suggestion ''if you catch it, you eat it.''
However, Dylan had given some thought to the rodent's final resting place.
''I think we should take it back to Alexandra, to the dump, or somewhere like that.''
Forty six fish, mostly rainbow trout, a few perch and one eel, were landed. The event has been run for about two decades, organised by the Alexandra District Club's fishing section, helped by Fish and Game Otago.
Fisheries officer Steve Dixon said the dam had been stocked with 200 2 year old rainbow trout from the Macraes Flat hatchery over the past month.
''It's good to see so many families enjoying the day and we've been giving assistance where we can, and helping to gut the fish after they've been weighed and clean them up so they can be taken home,'' he said.
Event convener Keith Bennetts said the organisers were grateful for the use of the orchard dam, which was a safe venue. They were also grateful to all the volunteers who helped with the day, and the prize sponsors.
Three year old Blake Campbell, of Alexandra, was hoping to hook ''a big shark''.
Asked if he had caught anything yet, he said, ''No ... but they're certainly here.''
Caleb Millar (9), of Alexandra, landed the heaviest fish of the day, a 1.76kg rainbow trout.
