...a hook and a line and the fishin's just fine!

Family Fishing Days

FFS hosts monthly events that provide families the opportunity to fish together in a safe and fun setting at the 7 heavily stocked "catching ponds" on the grounds of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. Anglers can expect to catch bluegill, largemouth bass, and channel catfish up to 10 lbs, and volunteers are on hand to help with baiting hooks and releasing fish.

Please join us on Saturday, May 12th for Family Fishing Day's annual George G. Kirkpatrick, Jr. Kid's Fishing Derby at the UF ponds!

In honor of Fishing For Success Family Fishing Day founder and supporter, Senator George G. Kirkpatrick, Jr., we offer a morning of family fishing fun along with a special exhibit, our "Critter Tent" where families can see some of Florida's most interesting aquatic bugs, fish and plants. We will be giving away casting rod (fishing poles) to children who do not own their own fishing pole, and t-shirts for all children who attend the event. There will be new, fun prizes at the casting contest as well. This is the Family Fishing Day to attend this year!

In addition, we are proud to partner with the Center for Autism and Related Disabilities (CARD) at the University of Florida, who will be joining us again this month to offer you valuable information highlighting Autism Awareness and a fun, safe morning of fresh water fishing for all family and community members! If you would like to contact the wonderful folks at the Center for Autism and Related Disabilities (UF) or are interested in finding more information about CARD, please see their website at http://card.ufl.edu/ or join us on May 12th and you can speak with a CARD staff member in person.

Family Fishing Days are free, open to the public, and catch-and-release. The fishing will start at 8 a.m. and end at 12 p.m. There are seven stocked ponds with channel catfish, bluegill, and largemouth bass. We will have loaner poles and bait (hotdogs, cut liver, and bacon) available, but everyone is welcome to bring their own equipment and bait. We respectfully ask that you please leave your pets at home.

Of course, we can't guarantee the weather, but we can promise that we'll be there to help you have a wonderful fishing experience (barring heavy rain and/or freezing temperatures). We will also have our casting challenge where all participants win a prize.

In an effort to support our program, we are collecting aluminum cans. If you could save your aluminum cans for us we would greatly appreciate it!

For directions, please check out our 'Map to Ponds' link at top left. For more information about Family Fishing Days, download our PDF for 2012 Information.

Please DO NOT RSVP unless your group is greater than 10 people. If there are more than 10 people in your group, please email FishingForSuccess@yahoo.com, with your name and how many adults and kids will be attending.

Don’t miss your chance to catch a big fish at the UF ponds this spring!
  

Sincerely,
Erika Thompson

FFS Event Coordinator, University of Florida   (352) 672-2454

This is what it is all about - family time!

Steve Caton helps to unhook and release a catfish.