On a breezy afternoon last week, 18-year-old Frank Ferrara stood on a pier, jutting out into the Delaware River with a group of friends. They were setting up fishing rods, hoping to catch some catfish.
“It’s definitely fun,” Ferrara said. “It’s good to get your friends to go out there, and just chill and fish.”
It was Ferrara’s first time fishing on the Delaware. He started fishing as a kid with his father, mainly at the shore and in streams outside of the city.
“It’s just a family thing,” Ferrara said. “Me and my dad do it, so it’s a bonding thing for me and him.”
Philadelphians of all ages can learn to fish in the Schuylkill River this month at Philly Fun Fishing Fest, an annual catch-and-release fishing tournament hosted by the Philadelphia Water Department.