The Environment Agency joined forces with members of Crawley Angling Society to give children a taste of the pleasures of angling and the great outdoors at the society’s prolific Ballast Pit fishery near Crawley.
Children aged three to 16, together with their parents, participated in the angling event at the fishery on Saturday (June 5). The free event was a great success as fish including carp, tench, perch, bream, rudd, roach and pike, were caught by all.
John Sutton, a fisheries team leader for the Environment Agency, said: “Once again, Crawley Angling Society provided a great opportunity for local kids to learn about angling in a peaceful and safe environment.”
The Environment Agency provided two professional angling coaches – Rob Walmsley and Dave Sims – together with equipment and prizes.
Prizes and bait were also supplied by local tackle shop owners – Steve Mugridge of Jack Frost Tackle and John Parker of the Tackle Warehouse.
The event has been running for 16 years and encourages youngsters from all walks of life into the sport. It teaches them how to become successful and responsible anglers whilst respecting fish and other wildlife.
Event organiser Lenny Wells, chairman of Crawley Angling Society, said: “A lot of hard work goes into this day, but it is well worth it. This year 22 children took part and we’ve already had some great feedback from the kids and their parents.”
The largest fish of the day was an 11lb mirror carp caught by 10-year-old Chris Adshead.
