Camp GOLIJA Fishing For Kids

Lindy Evans, of Lake Par,k deserves a big ol’ GON pat-on-the-back.

Lindy is a retired teacher from Lowndes Middle School who is now spending his summer days running a fishing camp for kids.

Camp GOLIJA stands for God, Lindy and Janice, his wife, and it started in 1991. The goal was to give kids a fun experience away from home while teaching them something about bass fishing.

“We have about nine neighborhood ponds we go to, and we also go to Bienville Plantation,” said Lindy.

Some of the ponds they go to are bass heavy, and allow kids to catch good numbers of smaller, fun-to-catch bass, giving them a good lesson in how to catch fish.

Eric Reissiger caught these two bass during a Camp GOLIJA fishing camp.

“If they want to fish for catfish and bream, that’s fine,” said Lindy. “There are two or three ponds we go to where we can do that.”

Camp GOLIJA hosts four camps per summer for kids 10 to 15 years of age, with 16 kids per week. Camps run from Sunday night through Thursday night. Kids and counselors stay in a 4,500-square-foot lodge. The cost for each kid is $225 for the week.

“There’s one adult and two kids in each boat,” said Lindy.

Kids will get to fish out of fully-rigged bass boats, thanks to volunteers from the Valdosta Bassmasters and Valdosta Christian Bassmasters bass clubs.

“I’m a retired school teacher — I know how to work with kids,” said Lindy. “I started taking kids to Tom Mann’s Junior Angler Day in 1981.”

Lindy, who made this year’s Georgia Bass Chapter Federation state team, asks that kids bring whatever fishing tackle they have.

“I do have some sponsors that send stuff — like Trilene sends us all the line I can use because some of the kids come to camp with a reel that has old line on it,” said Lindy.

If a camp doesn’t fill up, Lindy recruits kids from several local schools who deserve to be a part of the fishing camp. Those kids may not be able to afford the camp, so Camp GOLIJA relies on donations to help the less fortunate attend a week of camp.