TAMPA, Fla. — A Bay area man has turned his love of kayaking and fishing into a nonprofit. Mario Cruz loves to pass along his passion for the open water to young people.
Cruz said he grew up fishing with his father in Puerto Rico and then in the Bay area when his family moved to Safety Harbor.
“We would go fishing every afternoon when he would get off of work,” said Cruz. His father passed away at the age of 42, and Cruz said he continued to fish to keep his father’s memory alive.
What You Need To Know
Mario Cruz developed his love of fishing from his father
Cruz started kayaking about 25 years ago
Cruz and his wife, Tatiana, started a nonprofit to help teach kayaking and fishing
The nonprofit also helps out with projects to keep Bay area waterways free of trash
Cruz said that a friend introduced him to kayaking about 25 years ago, and he was hooked.
He loves how easy it is to transport a kayak and get onto the water.
“Freedom. The fact that we can get on the water and the fact that we don’t need any motors or anything like that,” he said.
A few years ago, Cruz and his wife, Tatiana, started a nonprofit to teach people how to kayak and fish, called Tampa Bay Kayak Anglers. Corporate sponsors have donated some of the equipment that’s needed. That includes the Jackson Kayak company, which donated about a half dozen kayaks through its foundation.
On a recent morning, Cruz and Tatiana took a group of homeschool students fishing on the Mobbly Bayou Wilderness Preserve in Oldsmar.
“We are adding stick anchors, our drive system and personal flotation devices,” said Cruz as he and Tatiana prepared the kayaks for the young men.
Before they all went out to the water, Cruz gave them some safety instructions under a pavilion.
“We are using number one circa hooks,” he said. Then he showed them their other fishing gear and frozen shrimp they would use for bait.
Once they got out on the water, most of the boys started catching fish within a few minutes. That brought Cruz a lot of joy.
“Them catching their fish is the thing for me. Like right now we had two kids catch their first redfish ever,” he said.
His organization also works with other groups that do projects to clean trash and debris out of Tampa Bay rivers and bodies of water.