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One more fish before the school bells toll

Children fish at Bass Pro Shop lake

— Though it’s not getting any cooler in Southwest Florida, for the children who are going back to school in the coming weeks, summer is coming to an end.

To savor what’s left of that summer fun, children turned out at Bass Pro Shop Saturday morning to enjoy one of summer’s great pastimes: fishing.

The Fort Myers Bass Pro Shop provided the rods, live bait and a stocked lake for kids and their guardians to fish — all at no cost.

With the Lee County’s first day of school (Aug. 18) nearly upon the students, a lazy morning fishing may have seen like a nice way to bid farewell to the summer break. But most of the children out fishing still weren’t ready to say goodbye, yet.

Samuel Culver was one of the young anglers at Bass Pro Shop Saturday morning. While fishing, he caught a bass with a mouth large enough to hold his fist. Though he was quite proud of his catch, Culver was in no hurry to actually touch the fish before it was released.

When asked if he preferred to go back to school or continue a summer vacation, Culver, 6, responded, “I want to keep the summer.”

Chloe Evans, who will enter the second grade at San Carlos Park Elementary School, shared Culver’s sentiments. Evans said she’s been fishing, swimming and staying at home and watching television. She said she was a little excited about school, but she’d rather have a longer summer.

Bass Pro Shop hosts fishing activities for children the first Saturday of every month.

Promotion Manager Janet Courtney said the program offers not only free equipment for the children to use, but also the advice and aid of their fishing experts.

“It’s great for parents who aren’t comfortable with (fishing),” said Courtney.

While some parents stood with their children helping reel in the fish, other like Rob Williams sat back and let the kids do the work.

Williams said he brings his children Scout and Seth to the fishing outlet every month. The two have gotten so good at angling that they hook their own bait.

Like it or not school is starting. But that doesn’t mean local children can’t still enjoy a relaxing Saturday morning of fishing.

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