Nine-year-old Chinelo Udekwe triumphantly held up a fish she caught Wednesday at the North Dakota Game and Fish Department’s Conservation and Outdoor Skills Park at the North Dakota State Fairgrounds.

But there would be no frying this fish for lunch. The rules say the fish are strictly catch and release. Chinelo threw the fish back before the fish could be harmed.

Chinelo was one of about 20 kids from the Minot Family YMCA Day Camp who were fishing at the park on Wednesday morning. They were joined by fishing mentors Senior Master Sgt. Michael Bonham, Master Sgt. Joe McCallum and Senior Airman Justin Zechman, all of Minot Air Force Base.

Zechman said the men all like to fish and wanted to teach the kids about their love of the outdoors.

“It’s better to be outside than inside playing video games,” he said.

The Air Force mentors showed the kids how to put a worm on a hook to bait the fish, how to cast a line and a little bit about the fish that are stocked in the pond.

This was the first time the kids from the day camp had gone fishing at the park and they all seemed to be having a great time.