Kids can test their casting abilities at the Huntsville Place Mall this weekend as the CastingKids event gets underway.

Mike Greaves, marketing and promotions manager for the mall, indicated that while a fishing show is running until next week, members of the Muskoka Bass Masters will be on hand on Saturday to host the Bassmaster CastingKids program.

Open to children in two age groups ¬¬– seven to 10 years old and 11 to 14 – CastingKids will run from noon until 4 p.m. on Saturday at the Huntsville Place Mall, with a cast-off taking place at 4 p.m.  

According to the Ontario Bass Federation (OBF) website, Bassmaster CastingKids competitions are similar to the old NFL punt, pass, and kick events, except the challenge is to flip, pitch and cast a hookless lure to a bullseye target – three important skills people need to know in order to catch fish. Scoring is based on a points system and the young angler with the most points wins.

According to Steve Bossence, youth director for the Muskoka Bass Masters, the two winners in each age group will get the opportunity to travel to the Bass Pro Shop in Vaughn to compete in the provincial qualifier. From there, two winners then go on to compete in the nationals, where they have the opportunity to advance and compete in an international competition in the United States for the chance to win up to $5,000 in scholarships.

Bossence went on to say that for the past seven years, the CastingKids events have been held at the Bracebridge Fall Fair.

“It’s really great,” he said. “There’s probably 100 to 150 kids who participate. They have fun and they’re given medals. (For the CastingKids event at the mall) Baysville Marina has bought two fishing rods for the winners in each category. It will be a lot of fun to watch.”

The OBF website indicates that the Bass Anglers Sportsmen Society (BASS) Inc., a worldwide organization dedicated to youth and the future of bass fishing and its resources, developed the CastingKids program in 1995 with the help of sponsors. Now in existence for 13 years, the program has reached over 1.5 million children and given away more than $2.9 million in cash, prizes and scholarships.

“There will be all kinds of prizes for kids who participate,” said Greaves. “It’s Easter Saturday at the mall and there will be free Easter eggs, colouring books and colouring contests. It kind of gets us into the spring spirit.”