Little ones busily amassed their own fish tales at the annual Take a Kid Fishing Tournament hosted by the Kiwanis Club of Vero-Treasure Coast and chaired by Mark Sammartino. Some 120 children, accompanied by adult family members, spread out along the catwalk under the Barber Bridge for another fun-filled morning of free fishing.
Kiwanis volunteers had arisen early to line up rows of fishing poles for the youngsters and cut up pounds of bait shrimp, donated by Vero Tackle and Marina. During the event, other Kiwanians helped out at registration, untangled lines and helped the squeamish bait, and later remove hooks from the wriggling catches.
Still others worked to measure and note the seemingly endless parade of anglers, proudly bringing their catches – predominately pinfish and toadfish – to be weighed and catalogued before being returned to the lagoon. Or, in the case of the ‘catch’ of a pair of sunglasses that had evidently been submerged for quite some time, cleaned up for posterity.
After a fruitful, or frustrating, day of fishing, everyone was treated to a lunch of hamburgers and hotdogs, grilled up by yet more Kiwanis members. And on top of trophies and fishing gear, the winners also received T-shirts and hats.
Take a Kid Fishing is one of many annual community service events hosted by the local Kiwanis Club, founded in 1973. They also organize fundraisers so they might provide volunteer and financial support to civic projects and local nonprofit organizations that serve children.
For more information, visit VeroKiwanis.com.
Photos by Norah Kodis
