LAKE OCONEE — Children are now out of school and most are looking for summer activities to keep them busy. What better activity than a day of fishing with a daddy, mom, grandparents or some other relative. There are also organized free fishing activities available in the local area.

I have two grandsons coming over the next two weeks and both expect Papa to take them fishing and they do expect to catch some fish. They have been coming for several summers and both are good anglers. This week, I have been attempting to find a few good spots on Lake Sinclair where I can pretty much guarantee the grandsons some action.

Early summer on area lakes and ponds is an excellent time to take children fishing. The weather is not too hot yet and the fish are biting. My grandkids can catch bluegill and catfish off my dock and for serious fishing we go in the boat for largemouth bass and crappie.

If you do not live on an area lake, do not have access to a lake or pond and don’t have a boat, there are fishing options available in the area. Georgia Power provides fishing piers on both Lakes Oconee and Sinclair but a better option might be the Charlie Elliott Wildlife Center and the Marben Farms Public Fishing Area (PFA) over near Mansfield about an hour drive from the local area.

The Charlie Elliott Wildlife Center has a number of ponds available for fishing with or without a boat.   The facility has numerous other outdoor activities available other than just fishing. But if fishing is the children’s activity you are looking for then you need to consider the Marben Farms PFA.

Marben Farms PFA has twenty ponds ranging from one acre to over sixty acres in size. Sixteen of those ponds or lakes are available for public fishing. One of the ponds is for only children, some have catch and release rules, some have only fishing from the bank and some of the larger ponds have concrete boat ramps.

The ponds at Marben Farms PFA are stocked with bluegill, shellcracker, largemouth bass, channel catfish and crappie. The species stocked in each lake varies, so you will need to take that into consideration when planning a fishing trip over to one of the lakes.

One of the lakes is Teal Lake and that lake is stocked only with channel catfish and is restricted to children under sixteen years of age. It is also the only lake that is catch and release. There are 15 other lakes available to anglers with few restrictions.

The National Fishing and Boating Week (NFBW) runs from June 5-13 and special Kids Fishing Events (KFEs) are planned all across Georgia.

The Charlie Elliott Wildlife Center will have a fishing event on June 13 at the Marben Farms PFA.

That fishing event is for children 16 and under and all children under 14 must be accompanied by an adult. The event will run from 9 a.m. until noon and all children must bring their own fishing equipment and bait. For additional information on this event contact Tim Blue at (770) 784-3061.

The Georgia National Fairgrounds in Perry will have a Kids Fishing Event that will run the entire month of June. Fishing will be available from Tuesday, June 1 beginning at 8:00 a.m. through Wednesday, June 30 ending at 4:00 p.m.

The event is open to organized groups (minimum of 10 children in each group) and reservations must be made and will be made on a first come first served basis. To make reservations or to get additional information about this event at the Georgia National Fairgrounds call Tereas Hawk at (478) 987-3247 ext 483.

To find other Kids Fishing Events during the NFBW or to find other fishing events available for children throughout the summer go to  www.gofishgeorgia.com and look at the fishing calendar. You can also call the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife Resources Division Fisheries office nearest you for more information.

A recent national survey found that 87 percent of Americans believe fishing and boating have a positive effect on family relationships.

So why not take your family and especially children fishing and boating this summer. I know what I will be doing for the next two weeks.

Good fishing and see you next week.