Local kids and kids from around the area came out to support the 1st Annual Josh Soper Kids fishing day on Aug. 2, 2025 at Northshore Marina in Wells. Main Photo

ESCANABA — Kids from all over the community came out Saturday for the 1st Annual Josh Soper kids fishing day. Josh died in 2024 after battling colon cancer. Josh was an avid fisherman.

The kids were treated to a day of fishing as well as games and lunch. Each kid that registered also received a new fishing pole.

The event was organized by Mikki Soper and her sisters.

“We were thinking about things we could do in memory of him,” Soper said. “And kids and fishing were two things he really loved.

Soper got lots of support from area businesses that sponsored the event and over 70 kids registered for the event.

“We didn’t really know what to expect the first time,” Soper said. “We have a really big family so I didn;t know if it was going to be just our families or what would happen and the outreach we got was crazy. It started off with eight kids for the longest time then just shot right up to 70. I can’t say enough for all the businesses that came on board we had Billerud which is the company Josh worked for to step up to help along with many others so I can’t thank them enough.”

Kids caught a mixture of Perch and Bass

Of the 70 kids that took part in the event were Josh’s nephews Mason and Brody Soper.

“It felt good to come out here and do what my uncle loved to do,” Mason Soper said. “I love fishing because it’s fun to come out and get the big bite and land the big catch.”

Mikki hopes the event will grow in the years to come.

“We want to see even more kids get involved,” Mikki Soper said. “We actually had to turn some away because it was past the registration deadline and we needed to plan for the amount that we signed up for. So I hope that next year everyone can get registered on time.”

Registration for next year’s event will be open when they post the flyer around late April or early May and the deadline for registration is mid July.

“We want to get more kids out here next year,” Mikki Soper said. “We want it to get bigger and bigger every year.”