BETHEL — The Upper Andro Anglers Alliance and Trout Unlimited will host a free Family Fishing Festival on Saturday, June 4.
It will be held rain or shine from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Angevine Park on the North Road in Bethel.
Free casting workshops and fly-tying instruction will be available throughout the day.
Local Maine guides and members of the Mollyockett Chapter of Trout Unlimited will teach the workshops.
Instruction will include both spin casting and fly casting for older youth and parents.
Maine’s Hooked on Fishing — Not on Drugs Program will supply complimentary rods and reels for use at the festival.
Families can practice newly learned casting skills in the 1-acre pond and are welcome to take home their catch.
The pond will be stocked with trout courtesy of the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.
Each young angler will receive a mini-tackle box complete with bobber, sinkers and hook courtesy of the Upper Andro Anglers Alliance.
Children can learn how to tie flies with materials provided by local outfitters and fly shops. They can also take home their hand-tied flies.
Families participating in the event will be eligible for door prizes from local outfitters and businesses as well as L.L. Bean and Kittery Trading Post.
The Bethel Fire Department will host a barbecue of hot dogs and hamburgers, chips and drinks. Additionally, families are welcome to bring a lunch.
The weekend of June 4 and 5 is a free fishing weekend in Maine. Resident and nonresident freshwater fishing licenses are waived each day.
The Family Fishing Festival is one of many nationwide events that provide families with an opportunity to have fun on the water.
The events are promoted by the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation (www.rbff.org).
For those families wishing to stay overnight and fish or canoe the Androscoggin River on Sunday, special family packages are available for the weekend at local lodging establishments.
For information on the Family Fishing Festival, contact the Upper Andro Anglers Alliance at 207-824-3694, [email protected] or www.upperandro.com.
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