2009 Cast for Kids Fishing Event, Lake Bastrop, Texas

The fifth annual Catch a Special Thrill (CAST) for Kids fishing event on April 25th, 2009 at Lake Bastrop in Bastrop, Texas was a great success. Once again, the Bureau of Reclamation, Lower Colorado River Authority, and Blue Bonnet Electric Cooperative partnered to provide a fun-filled day of boating and fishing. The event was also billed as a “Take Pride in America” function.


A total of 33 children (age ranges 5 to 15 years old) attended the event, accompanied by dozens of family members and friends. Once again, we hosted those with a variety of disabilities including cerebral palsy, Hunter’s disease, autism, Down’s syndrome, and cancer to name a few. Overall, participants represented the Bastrop Independent School District (ISD), Del Valley ISD, Austin ISD, San Marcos ISD, and Austin’s Dell Children’s Hospital. Upon arrival, each child was provided with breakfast, a fishing pole, tackle box, shirt, cap, as well as a special prize lunch box that contained bottled water, sunscreen, disposable camera, and a special toy. During the award’s ceremony, Smoky the Bear made a special appearance to hand out plaques to each of the event’s participants.


A total of 28 captains donated their time and their boats to the special event. As always, we ended up with a perfect match of the number of boats and kids. Furthermore, almost 100 volunteers were on-hand to ensure a wonderful day of safe fishing. In all, about 190 people attended this year’s event.


Finally, the event could not be made possible without the generous support of our event sponsors. In all, this year’s event had almost 20 sponsors. Most notable sponsors include Wal-Mart, which provided cash and volunteers, and Chili’s, which provided lunch and cooked up fresh chicken and beef fajitas with all the trimmings.