Pittsburgh fishing club offers kids free outings

Solomon Gustavo, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Dec 10, 2025

Published in Outdoors

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PITTSBURGH — At the end of one of Angler Fishing Club's expeditions on Lake Carnegie — jaunts during which the Pittsburgh volunteer organization provides fishing equipment and lessons free of charge — a young girl realized her passion for the sport.

"I want to go fishing all the time now," she said.

"Then tell your mom or dad that you are interested in fishing and ask them to take you out," said the Angler Fishing Club volunteer.

"I can't tell my dad," replied the girl. "He died of COVID-19."

The volunteer — Edward Caldwell, a Pittsburgh native who spends some of his off time as a retired IT professional teaching kids how to fish — then took a few moments to walk around the lake in Highland Park and talk individually with the girl.

"Our trips are not just about fishing," Caldwell said. "But also about giving kids a space to talk."

Teach a kid to fish

Angler Fishing Club really is about fishing. The club sees it as a new sport that kids can learn — and not as some leisurely, passive activity where one casts a line and sits back waiting for a bite.

"No," Caldwell said. "We're out there hunting fish."

For over 20 years, the organization has been a free resource for kids. It's primarily an after-school program, in partnership with the Pittsburgh Public School's Dilworth PreK-5, that meets at Lake Carnegie.

The program runs in the spring and early summer, and has events at the start of the school year in September and sometimes October, before it gets too cold. Group sizes tend to top out at about 60 kids.

The club also offers group excursions. If a group of kids and families want to go fishing at a specific time, they can register a request on the club's website and be outfitted with fishing equipment and volunteers to guide them.

That's the other thing — Angler Fishing Club also offers equipment rentals for families, entirely for free.

The club also participates in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Goodfellows program, which contributes to the Marine Corps Reserve's annual Toys for Tots program that provides toys to children during the holidays.

City fishing

Angler Fishing Club is an offshoot of family-oriented Pittsburgh Let's Go Fishing, which was founded by the Rev. Spencer Simon — who happened to be Caldwell's neighbor a couple decades back.

"Spencer knocked on my door and asked, 'Do you like fishing?' " Caldwell recalls.

Caldwell, 70, was taught how to fish by his father and jumped at the opportunity to pass along his knowledge to local kids interested in fishing.

Caldwell and his dad would fish the Allegheny River, chasing catfish and carp. They would also head to Lake Erie and Twin Lakes in Pike County.

But the Angler Fishing Club isn't one for taking long trips to rural fishing holes. "It's an inner-city club for the urban fisher," Caldwell said.

They've settled on Lake Carnegie as their main meeting spot. The city of Pittsburgh, through its Parks and Recreation Department, has invested in the lake, keeping it clean and stocked with fish including largemouth bass and bluegill.

Catching wonderment

For volunteers such as Caldwell, there are many precious moments shared with young anglers.

It's a hoot watching them pick up a rod for the first time and figure out how to cast their line. And it's thrilling to watch the kids as they sense the first nibbles on their bait, remembering what they were taught and then receiving in-the-moment guidance from a volunteer on how to reel it in.

And, of course, there's the magical moment when kids bring that first catch aboard and pose for the classic picture proudly holding their catch.

But that's not the best sight, Caldwell said.

"When I give the picture of the kid and their fish to their parents, I tell the parents that the best part of the picture isn't the fish, it's the kid's smile," Caldwell said.

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— The Post-Gazette has been running Goodfellows since 1947, raising money for Toys for Tots. From now until Christmas, the PG will profile other agencies that benefit from Goodfellows.

— Here's how to help: Readers can donate online at www.post-gazette.com/goodfellows. A tradition of Goodfellows is that the PG acknowledges every contribution in the newspaper.