Slide show: Protesters Show for Fish Out

Lake Ridge, Va. –– The “Fish Out” began Friday at noon, and grandparents and parents alike trickled into the Tall Oaks Community Center to find a brown, murky pool stocked with trout.

The annual week-long event always draws a crowd, but this year it drew the attention of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA.

Three members of the activist group stood outside the community center, one dressed as a fish, holding signs that stated “fishing hurts.”

Earlier this week, PETA urged its supporters to protest the event, putting it on its watch list, stating that scientific research showed fish feel pain when caught, and that children should not be taught to catch and kill fish for fun.

After about an hour the protesters left and the fishing continued.

“This is just like going to the trout pond when you were a kid,” said Jennifer Thompson. “It’s not cruel to do this. I’ve never thought fishing was cruel.”

Ray Morris brought his 6-year-old grandson, James, to catch some fish. He says trout make for a great dinner.

“We’ve been out here since 12:30 and we caught our first one about 2 o’clock. We’ve tried all kinds of things, like using bacon as bait, but we’ve had little success today,” said Morris.

The Fish Out is held by the Lake Ridge Property Owners Association and will continue throughout the week, or until the fish in the pool have all been caught.

Organizers say the fish come from a hatchery in Virginia, and that the event is a family affair that coincides with spring break.

The property owners association charges $7 per person to fish, rents fishing poles, sells bait, and charges $4 per fish for anyone who catches more than two.

Though the fish were in a confined swimming pool, no one said they would be easy to catch. Signs posted around the pool stated “trout are a wily fish, we cannot guarantee you will catch anything, the fishing fee is non refundable.”

Once all of the fish have been caught, the pool will be drained of its murky water left over from last summer, cleaned, and the pool reopened for business for the start of summer.