Fishing Friendzy Creates Space for Young Anglers

At first glance, a youth fishing league might sound like a niche idea. In practice, it speaks to something much broader. The Fishing Friendzy Foundation has built a program around a simple but often overlooked reality: unlike hockey, soccer, dance, or baseball, fishing has usually depended on family tradition. If a child does not have a parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, or family friend to introduce them to it, they may never really get the chance. In a recent interview on the Chamber Connect Podcast, Michael Sklad explained how that gap became the starting point for an organization that now blends recreation, mentorship, conservation, and community support in a distinctly practical way.

Sklad, known to many young participants as “Unkle Bass,” is the founder of the Fishing Friendzy Foundation and the creator of its youth fishing leagues. He describes the concept in language many families immediately understand: it is house league hockey, but for fishing. That framing helps clarify both the problem and the solution. Ontario has long had one-day fishing events and, at the more advanced end, bass clubs and tournament structures. What it lacked was the middle ground, a consistent, welcoming entry point where young people could learn the basics, build confidence, and take part in a structured activity without already being connected to the sport.

That model has now grown well beyond a single community. Last year, the foundation operated leagues from Belleville to Windsor, while continuing to expand in places where local interest and local leadership can support the program. In this area, leagues are being offered in Teeswater, Lucknow, and Kinloss, a reminder that rural communities are often especially well suited to initiatives that connect recreation to the natural environment around them. The leagues themselves are intentionally straightforward. Each one runs for five sessions, with a practice day followed by scored fishing days, all based on shoreline, catch-and-release, multi-species fishing. It is organized enough to feel like a sport, but accessible enough to welcome beginners.

That balance, structure without intimidation, seems to be one of the foundation’s quiet strengths. Fishing can become expensive, technical, and gear-driven in a hurry, especially for people who already know the sport. For newcomers, even walking into a store and trying to choose a rod, reel, line, or tackle can be a barrier. Fishing Friendzy tries to remove as much of that uncertainty as possible. Families can register at a base level if they already have equipment, or add a starter kit if they do not. The result is a program that is easier to enter, but it also reflects a broader philosophy. The point is not to create an exclusive club for kids who are already immersed in fishing culture. The point is to create an on-ramp.

Just as important is the organization’s emphasis on ethical angling. Sklad speaks about fishing not simply as recreation, but as a way of teaching responsibility. The foundation’s approach centres on catch and release, selective harvesting, and helping young people understand the ecosystems around them. In that sense, the program is not only teaching children how to fish. It is teaching them how to pay attention. Rivers, lakes, shorelines, habitats, litter, and water quality are not abstract environmental issues when a child has learned to care about what lives there. The link between recreation and stewardship gives the foundation a relevance that reaches well beyond sport.

There is also a family dimension that makes the model distinctive. Parents or guardians are required to be present, partly for safety and partly because the organization recognizes that adults are often learning alongside their children. In a time when many families are looking for activities that are shared rather than spectator-based, that is a meaningful difference. In many organized sports, parents sit in the stands while coaches run the program. Here, the learning is more collaborative. Parents who may have little or no fishing knowledge are brought into the process, which builds confidence and makes it more likely that the activity continues beyond the program itself.

The foundation has also been deliberate about inclusion. Sklad discussed partnerships and sponsorships not as side issues, but as part of the organization’s core structure. Some support comes from within the fishing and outdoor sector, but the model is intentionally broader than that. Local businesses can sponsor specific community leagues, and charities can help subsidize participation for lower-income families. The organization has also adjusted its program format to align with opportunities such as Canadian Tire Jumpstart, which could help more families participate over time. It reflects an organization trying to build not just enthusiasm, but durability.

Perhaps the most interesting part of the Fishing Friendzy story is that it did not begin with leagues at all. Sklad has been teaching kids to fish for nearly twenty years. The foundation grew out of earlier interactive exhibits at fairs, festivals, and large public events, including years at the CNE in Toronto. Those experiences exposed him to a steady stream of parents asking the same basic question: is there a camp, a school, or some kind of ongoing program for this? The leagues emerged from listening to that question and taking it seriously.

There is also a wider local relevance to the work. Rural communities often understand the importance of the outdoors instinctively, but they still need organizations that can turn that understanding into practical opportunities for young people and families. Fishing Friendzy is doing that by connecting recreation, conservation, mentorship, and community partnership in a way that feels grounded and useful. It is not only teaching kids how to catch fish. It is helping build habits of responsibility, confidence, and connection that can last well beyond a single season.