With only half the time remaining during his highly sought after 6 a.m. time slot, Russell Goolsbey had caught only one fish by the time his five younger brothers had limited out at Homesteader Park's fishing facility. His siblings took the opportunity to razz him. All six boys are very competitive.

Instead of worrying about his own limit of fat fish, Russell, 14, helped his father Bill with the two youngest Goolsbey boys, Rhenn, 6, and Ryatt, 4 — ensuring they had fun before tending to his own pole.

But the good deed didn't mean karma was on his side. As he was pulling in a second trout, the fish spit the hook and sent the lure flying. It ended up stuck in Russell's scalp on the back of his head, drawing mother Kalee to the scene quickly to save the day.

It was a nervous moment, but Russell laughed it off and was fishing again within minutes.

"He caught the biggest sucker in the pond," his mother joked.

It was surprising how light-hearted the family remained after the accidental hooking. But injuries, from cuts to broken bones, seem to go hand in hand with a crew of rough and tumble farm boys.

When you're the oldest of 6 boys, you are expected to help out when needed — even when the fish are biting — and your every action is an example for your younger brothers, including Rhett, 13, Rowdee, 11, Rhylee, 8 and Rhenn and Ryatt. But these boys, from the oldest to the youngest, are more than brothers, Kalee said. They're a team.

"They all are very good to each other," she said with pride. "Russell is very good about helping his brothers."

As tradition dictates, the entire family was at the Powell fishing celebration Saturday for the first time slot, where kids vie for prizes while casting for stocked trout in the cement pond. The free event was nearly "sold out" with 35 families per hour taking turns during their time slots to keep the facility from getting overcrowded. But the fishing was frenzied as the kids attempted to pull in one of three tagged fish for the top prizes — as well as fresh fish for dinner.

"Our first time slot normally fills up, you know, within the first day or two [of registration for the event opens], and then reservations kind of trickles in after that. But that first day is pretty busy," said Powell Rec Department Recreation Supervisor Joe Cates.

This was Cates' ninth year opening the gates, taking registration sheets and calling out raffle ticket numbers. He's beginning to see the same folks bring their kids to the event, increasing his ability to do department outreach. It's like a big fishing family, Cates said while children picked out their favorite goodie from among the prizes supplied by the Wyoming Outdoorsmen for the event.

One tagged fish was nearly pulled in, but the slippery fish escaped and the tagged fish managed to make it safely through opening day. The prizes for the three special fish were only available during the event.

But more than simply knowing the routine, the young anglers are making memories with family and making friends with fellow fishing fanatics. Even families from Cody were coming to Powell for the celebration.

Cody's Larry Hill brought his son and grandchildren to the pond for the sunrise reservations. His son Jeremy said it's a tradition started a dozen years ago to come to Powell on Kids’ Fishing Day.

"It's a good family event," Jeremy said. "We look forward to it every year."

By the time the horn sounded to end the 6 a.m. time slot, Russell Goolsbey had pulled in three fish — one shy of the limit for the day and the only brother not reeling in his limit. Russell didn't care, he had a blast helping — getting as much of a kick out of watching Rhenn pull in fish than catching his own.

"They pulled in 23 fish," Kalee said, who then turned to her family to help get packed up before the 7 a.m. crew started entering the facility.

Montana celebrates Father's Day next with a free fishing weekend June 14-15. During the weekend, both residents and nonresidents can fish for any fish within Montana without needing a fishing license, as long as they abide by the seasons, restrictions, and bag limits listed in the fishing regulations.