By Kyla Hurt
Photos/Kyla Hurt and Special to The Source
The kids — and the fish — are hooked. The Kiwanis Club of Jacksonville recently added another completed “Take Me Fishing” event to its metaphorical tackle box.
The 2026 Take Me Fishing was held the morning of Saturday, June 13 out on Morgan Lake in Nichols Park. Open to children age 3-15, the annual event is boatloads of fun — and free!
Kiwanian Andy Smith said around 100 kids participated in this year’s event; however, with all the parents, grandparents, Kiwanis volunteers and members of the Routt Bass Fishing Team who volunteered, there were more than 200 people present.
There were four age groups for the event, with 1st, 2nd and 3rd place trophies in each group — plus a grand prize trophy for the ‘Biggest Fish of the Day.’
Every participant received a personalized certificate as well as a coozie donning the event logo. The Kiwanis Club of Jacksonville supplied worms for the event, plus offered fishing poles to borrow, if needed.
A special appearance by Abe Lincoln made this year’s Take Me Fishing especially, ahem … historic.
According to Smith, “The Abe Lincoln appearance started with a call from the Looking for Lincoln organization out of Springfield.”
Apparently, Looking for Lincoln Program Manager Heather Feezor had initially reached out to Jacksonville Area Convention & Visitors Bureau Executive Director Brittany Henry about any area fishing events, with the goal of encouraging kids to get into fishing at all the great lakes and ponds around Illinois. After some further communications, a partnership with Take Me Fishing was formed.
Smith continues, “It worked out great. I shared information and we made a plan for Abe to come over and interact with the kids, do photos, etc. … Heather [Feezor] calls him a Lincoln ‘interpreter,’ instead of an impersonator or actor. His name is Randy Duncan. Heather described the portrayal that day as the Lincoln without his top hat, so maybe a little younger version that may have been fishing around Central Illinois.”
And it was that version, indeed. “Lincoln” brought his cane pole, which children enjoyed and compared to their more modern fishing poles.
Smith finishes by sharing about this year’s Take Me Fishing, “This event was started in 2017 and has grown over the years. It’s a fun event for kids and their parents and grandparents. We see some of the same families each year and hear how the kids have been looking forward to the event. It’s great to see the kids come back each year, and of course it’s always fun to see kids experience their first time fishing and catch their first fish. The Kiwanis Club has a lot of dedicated volunteers that work to put on a fun event each year. This year we were able to avoid any major rain and have a successful, fun event for everyone involved.”
Indeed, it was a great event. The Kiwanis Club of Jacksonville wishes to thank all involved for their help in putting on this year’s Take Me Fishing.
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2026 Kiwanis ‘Take Me Fishing’ winners
Ages 3-6
1st Cooper Fry
2nd Sophie Lomelino
3rd Kaisley White
Ages 7-9
1st Eddie Barfield
2nd Grazie Harper
3rd Cooper Fromme
Ages 10-12
1st Jack Harper
2nd Jonah Wardell
3rd Hannah Watret
Ages 13-15
1st Cole Manker
2nd Jorja Wardell
3rd Burke White
Grand prize winner for biggest fish caught for the day was Cole Manker. He caught a 15-inch catfish.
