Associação Naval do Guadiana fishing school

Plenty of children fish off a harbour wall on holiday. This is where a child who wants to get good at it can join a club. The Associação Naval do Guadiana (ANG) is the nautical club of Vila Real de Santo António, the town at the eastern end of the Algarve where the Guadiana river reaches the sea, with Ayamonte in Spain on the far bank. Its Escola de Pesca Desportiva (sport-fishing school) teaches two kinds of sea fishing:

• Surfcasting: casting a long line from the beach into the surf, with a heavy weight to hold the bait in place.
• Bóia-mar: sea fishing with a float, watching for the float to dip when a fish bites.

The club says the school has a good number of young anglers. Sport fishing is something it has taken up again seriously, and it now has regional and national titles, with several members fishing for Portugal in international competitions. Children who join learn alongside people who compete.

The school runs as a club with no public timetable. Its page says sessions are arranged with the club’s fishing teams, so the first step is to email the club and ask when the young anglers meet, what equipment a beginner needs and whether your child needs to become a member.

The club says its training schools give free sport to young people from the municipality and the neighbouring ones. That makes it a good option for home-educating families living in the eastern Algarve who want a regular outdoor activity. Families from further afield should ask what applies to them.

ANG was founded in 1983 by a group of local sailors and is a registered public-interest institution. It has about 800 members and covers sailing, canoeing, sea and offshore sport fishing, powerboats, jet skis, diving, camping and boating courses, with active schools for sailing, canoeing, sport fishing and navigation training. It manages the Porto de Recreio do Guadiana, the town’s marina, and coordinates the Estação Náutica do Baixo Guadiana, a water-sports network shared by Vila Real de Santo António, Castro Marim, Alcoutim and Ayamonte.

During the school holidays the club also runs sports holidays and first sessions on the water for young people, using its fleet of beginner and racing sailing boats and canoes. It organises an international swim across the Guadiana and a canoe regatta on the river, and one of its young sailors has twice been national Optimist champion. A child who starts with fishing can try sailing or canoeing at the same club.

Because so little is published, a short email saves a wasted trip. Useful questions: the youngest age they take, whether a parent needs to stay, where the young anglers fish (beach, harbour wall or river), whether rods and tackle are lent to beginners, whether a membership fee or insurance applies, and whether children need any fishing licence or registration. It is also worth asking how the fishing school fits around the sailing and canoeing sessions, in case your child wants to try more than one.

The club’s pages don’t give ages, times or prices for the fishing school, so everything depends on getting in touch. Email geral@associacaonavaldoguadiana.pt; writing in Portuguese may help.

The club has restaurants at its headquarters and a snack bar at the marina, and the Bar Panorâmico on the first floor of the headquarters looks over the river and Spain. The marina is a few minutes from the town’s sports complex and about 3 km from the beach at Monte Gordo.

In the eastern Algarve, the long beaches of the Ria Formosa are close: Praia do Barril near Tavira and Ilha da Culatra off Olhão. The Centro Ciência Viva de Tavira is a good rainy-day stop. For a one-off fishing day, the children’s fishing get-together at Arronches in the Alentejo, held around Children’s Day each June, is on our What’s on page.

How old do children have to be to join?

The club doesn’t publish an age range for the fishing school. It describes the anglers as young people, so ask by email.

Is it free?

The club says its schools offer free sport to young people from Vila Real de Santo António and nearby municipalities. Ask about costs if you live elsewhere.

When are the sessions?

Times are arranged with the club’s fishing teams, not published.

Can holidaymakers try it?

The school is set up for regular club members. The club also runs holiday sports sessions, so ask whether a visiting child can join one.