With Sacramento's proximity to both the Sacramento and American Rivers and the abundance of fishermen in both locations, many Sacramentans look no further than the river system to fulfill their fishing needs. However, this would be a mistake - one that the Department of Fish and Game's Fishing in the City program is trying to correct.

The Fishing in the City program stocks fishing ponds in cities throughout California, focusing on parks in the San Francisco, Los Angeles and Sacramento areas. Although workers stock multiple ponds in the Sacramento region, the only two ponds in central Sacramento that are refilled fairly regularly are Southside Park and William Land Park. These ponds are stocked with catfish in the summer months and trout in the winter months.

In order to fulfill their mission of bringing angling to urban environments, program workers do more than just provide fish.

"We provide fishing education and also conservation education," said Sacramento Program Coordinator Joe Ferreira. Ferreira and a group of volunteers, some of whom have been working with with him for as long as 18 years, work with local groups and parks to put on events that promote the program and increase fishing awareness.

One such popular outreach program is the Free Fishing Instruction Clinics. This program not only teaches youngsters the fundamentals of fishing with a half-hour instruction period about safety, ethics and equipment, but also provides them with free rods, bait and tackle. The full schedule for this summer can be found here.

Although the program is still stocking ponds and holding clinics, monetary restrictions have slowed down the number of fish purchased and distributed.

"We're still working on the same budget we had 17 years ago," Ferreira said, "but the price of fish has quadrupled since then, if not more. Ponds that we started stocking back then are only stocked once or twice a year now, if ever."

The last time the ponds were stocked as of press time was in early June, when a new delivery of catfish was planted into the water. However, Ferreira was very hopeful that they would be able to fund a new stocking by Saturday's free fishing clinic in Elk Grove Park.

With the complications and budget concerns of recent years, it would be easy to doubt the point of the program altogether. But Ferreira certainly has seen the benefits from his efforts.

"When the program began, most of the fishing was in only rural areas," he said. Most of the potential urban fishermen Ferreira talked to cited unsafe currents in the river, lack of time to go out to fishing spots, and the difficulty of beginning fishing without education as reasons to not give fishing a try. Ferreira said he sees his program as a good remedy to these problems.

The park ponds he is stocking are safer than the river, more residents can easily access parks for a quicker fishing experience and he provides free education to anyone who needs it.

Hindolo Brima, a media and communications specialist at the Department of Parks and Recreation, is also enthusiastic about the options that the program presents to Sacramento residents. He said he sees the new venues as more advantageous to families.

"Fishing in parks can be good because it gives families more entertainment options," he said. "While one child fishes another could play on the playground while the parents can play Frisbee golf."

Although funding may be hindering the full potential of the Fishing in the City program in Sacramento, much progress has still been made. Both Brima and Ferreira agree that the program has presented a safe, entertaining and viable alternative to fishing in the river.