School Fishing Program
What We Do!
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) developed the School Fishing Program for students who are interested in learning how to become effective, conservation minded anglers. The goal is to teach students about ethical angling, conservation, Florida's aquatic habitats, basic fishing gear, and general fishing concepts to help create confident and responsible anglers. FWC works with each school, providing them with the resources to run a successful fishing club. Let's Go Fishing!
How to Get Started
It is EASY! All you have to do is complete the Registration Form. Even though the program is temporarily paused, the FWC will still be able to provide educational material and will be running the Fishing & Conservation Challenge. By completing the form you will:
- Join the email list for this year's program.
- Become eligible for the Fishing & Conservation Challenge prizing.
- Receive the digital educational material.
- Sign-up to receive physical educational material. This material will be provided to the first 50 registrants who select the appropriate option on the form.
A school sponsor such as a teacher, coach, or parent is responsible for overseeing the students, usually as an extracurricular club or a team. The sponsor is responsible for teaching the core curriculum, scheduling regular meetings, and planning fishing outings.
For questions you can contact the FWC by emailing R3Fishing@MyFWC.com or calling Brandon Stys at 850-354-4798
Program Information
Equipment & Surveys
- Registration Form Opens: August 20
- Educational Material Sent by: October 1
- Student Pre-Surveys Due: December 31
- Student Post-Surveys Due: Second Friday of May
- Club Sponsor Surveys Due: June 1
Fishing & Conservation Challenge
- Fishing Challenge Opens: September 1
- Fishing Challenge Starts: October 1
- Fishing Challenge Ends: March 31
- Conservation Projects Due: Second Friday of April
The FWC Fishing & Conservation Challenge is a friendly competition among Florida students anglers. All students participating in a school-based fishing club or team may participate. Fishing clubs may earn points for their participation in a pre-determined list of fishing and aquatic conservation centered activities seen below. The clubs will compete in a three-tier prize structure with a Grand Prize, Second Place Prize, and Third Place Prize determined by their points total at the end of the challenge.
The clubs’ sponsor must send their report of completed projects and activities to FWC’s R3 Coordinator, Brandon Stys, via email (R3Fishing@myfwc.com) or fill out the Online Form by the due date to be eligible for competition prizing. The points will be approved and tallied by an evaluation team to determine a winner. All schools MUST submit their pre- and post-surveys to be eligible for the competition. Should there be a tie, a tie-breaker challenge will be issued for the two competing clubs to complete to determine their placement in the prizing tiers.
*Prizing will be awarded to each winning school, for a maximum of 20 participants.
Approved Activities
Fishing Challenge
- Student anglers participate in the Fishing Challenge where points will be awarded based on the number of species caught. Points will be awarded based on correct fish identification and if all tournament rules are followed: 150 points per club, 5 points per unique fish species caught from the approved list.
Kids’ Fishing Clinic
- Organize and host a Kids’ Fishing Clinic for club members or non-members such as other students from your school students from another school in your area, or other youth in the community A brief outline/schedule, photos, and sign in sheet(s) are required. 150 points plus 5 points per non-member up to 250 points per event.
Aquatic Trash Clean-Up
- Club organizes or participates in a local waterway or beach clean-up (this could include events such as CCA Trash Tour Stops, International Coastal Cleanup events, local clean-up events, or your school fishing club outing): 1 point per pound of trash collected up to 500 points per school year, documentation of weight is required (ex. photos or forms).
Create a Project
- Club creates and completes their own project related to preserving the health and quality of aquatic habitats. These projects could be conservation related to fishing line, water testing, habitat restoration, and more. 100 points per project.
2024-2025 Winners
1st: Independence Classical Academy
2nd: Olivet Private School
3rd: Timber Springs Middle School
2023-2024 Winners
1st: JW Mitchell High School
2nd: East Bay K-8
3rd: Punta Gorda Middle School
2022-2023 Winners
1st: Chamber High School
2nd: Punta Gorda Middle School
3rd: A. Crawford Mosley High School
2021-2022 Winners
1st: Punta Gorda Middle School
2nd: A. Crawford Mosley High School
3rd: Palatka Junior Senior High School
2020-2021 Winners
1st: JW Mitchell High School
2nd: St. Cloud High School
3rd: Gateway High School
2019-2020 Winners
1st: Penial Baptist Academy
2nd: St. Cloud High School
3rd: Christopher Columbus High School
2018-2019 Winners
1st: St. Cloud High School
2nd: Liberty County High School
3rd: Barron G. Collier High School
- Question: Can non-school-related organizations receive fishing equipment?
- Answer: No, only brick-and-mortar schools may receive equipment through this program.
- Question: Can virtual or home schools receive equipment?
- Answer: No, virtual or home schools are not eligible to receive fishing equipment or prizing from the Fishing & Conservation Challenge; however, you may still receive the digital educational resources by completing the sign-up form.
- Question: How much funding does the School Fishing Program provide?
- Answer: As of 2025, the School Fishing Program no longer offers monetary funding, switching to a fishing equipment based program.
- Question: Can our school club/team participate for more than one year?
- Answer: The Fishing & Conservation Challenge is open to all schools regardless of participation history. For information on the guidelines that apply to the fishing equipment, please reference the program's Rules and Guidelines.
- Question: Is insurance provided through the program?
- Answer: The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission does not provide insurance to participating schools. Clubs/teams should follow their school’s policies and procedures. Fishing League Worldwide (FLW) can provide insurance through their membership program. Visit Major League Fishing and click on “Members” to learn more.
Have FWC Visit Your Classroom
To have the FWC visit your school's fishing club, please enter your request into the Ask FWC system.
Our Partners
FWC's School Fishing Club Program partners with organizations in the fishing industry to support the Fishing & Conservation Challenge. Our partners donate prizing to the program which are given out at the end of the school year to the top three schools who compete in the challenge.
Note: Neither the FWC nor the State of Florida endorse any individual company, and each company is solely responsible for their products/services and fulfillment of any offers. State laws prohibit false claims or fraud when claiming prizes.
Private Donors: Dawn K. & James D. Vaughn, Mrs. Connie & Mr. Garner Koons
Thank you to all of our partners and donors!
Information Resources
Sport Fish Restoration
Do you buy fishing gear? Fuel up your boat? Purchase a fishing license? Every time you do, you help improve your fishing experience by supporting the Sport Fish Restoration Program (SFR).