Anglers try their luck on Free Fishing Day
While there were plenty of nibbles and bites Saturday, few anglers were quite as successful as Spring resident Landon Carlovsky, 9, who caught three fish in a span of five minutes.
Fishing is a family tradition for the Carlovskys, who enjoyed Texas’ Free Fishing Day, the day designated to allow anyone to fish on any public body of water.
“My favorite part is reeling in a big fish,” said Landon, who was unwilling to share the fishing secrets he’s learned from his father.
The father and son celebrated Free Fishing Day at the newest Neighborhood Fishin’ program at Herman Little Park in northern Houston. They were among dozens of families to turn out at the lake, which opened in November and had just been restocked with catfish.
“This was just a great free family fishing day for us. We heard they just restocked the lake, and we wanted to come check it out,” said Landon’s dad, Ben Carlovsky.
The lake is restocked every two weeks with catfish in the warmer months and rainbow trout in the colder months, officials said.
The Neighborhood Fishin’ program site at Herman Little Park in Spring is the fourth of its kind in the Houston area. The others are at Mary Jo Peckham Park in Katy, Community Park Lake in Missouri City and Burke Crenshaw Park in Pasadena.
“Originally, in the early 2000s, the idea for having Neighborhood Fishin’ was to create some opportunities that were close to home, fairly easy access where people can have a chance to try fishing and have a good chance to catch and keep,” said Eddie McKenna, a Texas Parks and Wildlife spokesperson.
Bud Gessel, director and general manager of parks for the Timberlane Utility District, said fishing is popular because it gives people a different opportunity to enjoy the outdoors and relax.
It’s also easy for beginners. “You can come in at a relatively new level and still be successful,” said Mark Webb, Texas Parks and Wildlife natural resource specialist. “It’s also not expensive. If you’re under 17, you don’t even need a fishing license. You can pick up a rod and reel combo with tackle for 10 to 20 bucks, and that’ll last you forever.”