On Wednesday, 4-year-old Kolby Ruth made it out for his first fishing trip with his dad.

He kept an eye — for the most part, anyway — on the bobber floating out in Pine Grove Pond. Turtles swam around near shore and a muskrat poked its head up to breathe, both offering distractions from the slow fishing.

“Man, this is getting too hard,” Kolby said.

“It’s fishing, buddy. Not catching,” Kolby dad, Kris, said with a smile.

The Ruths and other families gathered at Pine Grove for Cops and Bobbers, an annual fishing day hosted by the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office, Montana Highway Patrol and Montana Fish, WIldlife and Parks.

Representatives from the three agencies were on hand to hand out hot dogs, give a little advice about summer safety and pal around at the fishing hole.

Sheriff’s Deputy Travis Bruyer said that with the workload of patrol shifts, it’s great to get out with community members to focus on something fun: fishing.

When he brought out the nightcrawlers, the kids flocked to shore with poles in hand.

Taite Hammer tossed his bait out to deeper water. At 8 years old, he’s got a solid cast, having been out bass fishing before. The fishing was slow but the fish were active. One jumped next to his bobber and Taite waited for it to strike.

“My heart is kind of pounding,” he said.

Next to him, his brother Trevor, 5, was just getting the feel for it. He kept wanting to pull in the line, but his father, Mike, suggested that the bait should stay out.

There was some success early in the afternoon event. Just down the shore from Kolby, another boy pulled in a small fish. It could have been repurposed as bait.

Kolby called over words of encouragement.

“Great job!” he yelled.

Reporter Matt Hudson may be reached at 758-4459 or by email at [email protected].