Fishing event Friday at Maumelle

The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission’s Family and Community Fishing Program will welcome all anglers 50 years and older to Lake Valencia in Maumelle on Friday, May 4, for the largest senior community fishing event in the state.

The event will run from 9 a.m. until noon and is free. No registration is required.

Anglers will need to bring their own fishing gear. Seniors should also feel free to mingle and tell a fishing story or two. Music, food and door prizes will be provided.

There is also still time to sign up for the AGFC’s fishing clinic, annually held the day before the big event.

Seniors will get instruction in the basics of fishing from 10 a.m. to noon, Thursday, May 3, at The Maumelle Center on the Lake, 2 Club Manor Cove in Maumelle. Register for the fishing clinic at [email protected] or by calling 501.851.4344.

The event has become so popular that a second one is now held each year in September, according to Maurice Jackson, the FCFP coordinator.

“This started out as a small derby and over the past seven years has grown into a real fishing event, so much so that we now end up doing two a year,” Jackson said. “To all seniors, I say come out and enjoy a great fishing opportunity.”