A Special Day of Fishing for Special Needs Kid

fishing-with-kids-2Over 50 boats gathered together on Saturday, October 24th, 2015, and took out special needs children and their families fishing.  The kids got a hands on, on the water fishing experience from some of the best fisherman in the bay area.  Many of these captains give up a day of charters or tournament fishing to make sure these kids got to make a memory of a lifetime.  For most of these kids it is their only chance to get on a boat, let alone catch fish.  The smiles are priceless.

The Old Salts has been running this special day for over 30 years (not exactly sure of the start date) and has turned into one of the best days any fisherman could ask for.  Bob Spinabaldi has been helping the Old Salts organize this event for as far back as anyone can remember.  Most of the children come from Walsingham Elementary School and we encourage them to bring their entire family for the experience.

The day starts out at Ft. Desoto Boat ramp and all the boats meet up around 8am.  The kids arrive and get checked in and loaded up.  Special thanks to the Fire Department and ECSAR for helping to ensure safety for all these children as they board the boats and fish.  The boats fish the bay area for about 3 hours and most of the children catch anything from Spanish Mackerel, grouper, sea trout, redfish and an occasional Cobia.  For these children the size of the fish doesn’t matter.  The day ends with a cook out and more. An award ceremony follows where every kid wins! Trophies and goody bags for all. The joy of this day is so overwhelming that grown men shed tears.

Old Salt Fishing Foundation • Amy Verdensky – Media Office: 727-216-6601 • amy@OldSaltFishing.orghttp://oldsaltfishing.org

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