Children Reel in a Good Time

It was a beautiful day to sit around the ole fishing hole on Saturday morning, as nearly 130 local children came out for the 42nd annual Manasquan PBA 284 kids fishing tournament.

The  event was free for children age 3 to 13. It kicked off with registration at 8:15 a.m., with fishing from 9  to 11 a.m.  From 11 a.m. to 12 p.m., prizes were given to all children who participated in the event, and the participants enjjoyed a pizza lunch as well. Prizes were given out in various age ranges, from 3-6, 7-10 and 11-13.

The way the tournament worked was that the children would sit around Mac’s Pond on North Main Street in Manasquan. Every time they would catch a fish, they would bring the fish to the official weighers, who would mark down the size and kind of fish, and the children would then go back and continue fishing.

Those weighing the fish were the members of the Manasquan Fishing Club. Duane Danish, of the Manasquan Fishing Club, said he was thrilled with how the event went, and was happy to help any children who needed assistance casting their reels into the water.

“This is a great event, the cops really do a great job putting this all together,” he said. He added that the biggest fish caught during the course of the day was a 13 ounce catfish, but he said that he still thought some bigger fish may be caught. 

Running the event for the PBA was Adam Pharo. Pharo said this event is one of his favorite days of the year, and he couldn’t be happier with the weather.

“Everything has been going great so far, you just can’t ask for a better day,” he said. He added that everything was free for the children, and there were also fishing reels available for children to borrow if they did not have their own. 

Pharo added one of the things he loved about this event was how many families continue to come out for the day to fish, year after year. 

“There are people here who I used to fish with when I was younger, and here they are now fishing with their children,” he said. “It really is great to see.” 

Pharo’s mother Gina was in attendance as well, noting how much she enjoys the event and how appreciative she is that all of the children can enjoy a free day of food and fishing. 

She added that many children from outside Manasquan came for this event as well, including James Finnegan of Brielle, with his father, Brian.

“It is great to see all of these kids out here today fishing,”  Finnegan said. “James has seen a lot of friends from his class fishing here already, and with such a nice day, this is a lot of fun for everyone to come out and go fishing.” 

James  showed off the 3.1 ounce catfish he caught by himself, noting that it just felt “great” to catch such a fish.