NCWRC offering free fishing workshops in June

Family fishing workshop, rod building workshop, youth fishing day all next month

The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission is offering two free fishing workshops in June at the John E. Pechmann Fishing Education Center, in Fayetteville.

Family Fishing Workshop

On June 8, a Family Fishing Workshop will be held from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. It is open to families with children 7 and older who want to learn the basic skills needed to go fishing. Among the topics covered in this hands-on workshop are:

Casting a spin-cast rod and reel

Rigging a rod and reel

Tying basic fishing knots

Collecting bait

Catching and releasing fish properly

Handling fish properly

Catching fish in the center’s stocked ponds

“We held the first family fishing workshop in April and we had such positive feedback from attendees at that first workshop that we decided to do another one,” said Thomas Carpenter, Pechmann Center director. “One of our goals at the Pechmann Center is to offer fishing activities to families so that kids and their parents can start building fishing memories.”

Equipment and bait will be provided at no charge.

Basic Rod Building Workshop

On June 18, a Basic Rod-Building Workshop will be held from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. This workshop covers the basic techniques for building a 6-foot, medium-action spinning rod. All tools and supplies are provided. Due to space constraints, the workshop is limited to 15 participants.

Pre-registration online is required for the workshops. Check-in for both workshops begins 30 minutes prior to the start of the program. For more information about the workshops, contact Carpenter at 910-868-5003 or Thomas.carpenter@ncwildlife.org.

Youth Fishing Day

The Pechmann Center also is hosting its annual Youth Fishing Day on June 11 from 8 a.m. to noon, as part of National Fishing and Boating Week 2016. It is one of 40 free kids’ fishing events that will be held across the state in late May, early June in celebration of NFBW. Equipment and bait will be provided at no charge on a first-come, first-serve basis.

The John E. Pechmann Fishing Education Center is located at 7489 Raeford Road, across from Lake Rim. Wildlife Commission staff at the Pechmann Center conducts fishing workshops, events and clinics throughout the year. Most programs are free and open to the public. For more information about the center, or to see a schedule of upcoming events,click on the “Learning” link. For more information on fishing in public, inland waters, visit www.ncwildlife.org/fishing