Fishing event catches attention, interest of local youth

Community members at MB559 Fishing event. Photo: Esaul Perez

Mayra Becerra

MB559 Fishing group hosted its third Meet and Greet event this past Sunday, September 5, 2021, at the Boys and Girls Club of Ivanhoe.

 It was a free six-hour outside event that began at 11 and ended at 6. Members of the group came out and participated in the Meet and Greet open to all who wanted to attend. 

The event was packed with activities for the kids who attended. A bounce house, waterslides, and a mechanical bull, tacos, and a petting zoo were some of the entertainment activities provided for the kids. The highlight event was a fishing pond where the kids could come out and catch their own catfish. Different sponsors came together to put on this great event. The event was posted online with an online photo booth and the hashtag #mb559mag2021 so all attending could upload their pictures to one place.

There were so many excited little faces as they reeled out their catches! Kids surrounded the pool and waited patiently for a fish to bite. Children cast their rods while parents watched excitedly with them. When the fish wouldn’t bite some members helped so children could experience the excitement of catching a catfish. For some of the kids, this was the first time catching a fish. Children took proud pictures with their catches. For some of them, it was the first time fishing. This was an amazing opportunity for all who attended, seeing everyone sharing in the community was a welcome sight. 

The group totaling over 15,200 members on Facebook has continued to grow as members see all the good that the group does. On Facebook, page members are encouraged to post their catches, and ask for advice or questions in general about fishing. Their page focuses on being positive and respectful towards each other while interacting with each other on the page. 

MB559 Fishing has worked within Tulare County serving food to our homeless population, giving out toys for Christmas, among other projects to serve our communities. In April, the group became an official non-profit organization.

When asked “why do you guys do what you do?”  Wanchai See, a group administrator responded, “we want to give back to our community, provide opportunities that may not be available to some, all while connecting through fishing.” He added, “in the future, we would like to do events with kids that have autism, so do special friends fishing day with people in wheelchairs and disabled, we would want to do a fishing with Veterans also.” 

To learn more about future MB559 Fishing events, you can follow their account on Facebook.