About 600 inner-city kids reeled in pickerel and catfish in downtown Winnipeg this summer, thanks to a program that taught them to fish on the Red River.

The Fish Winnipeg Inner City Youth at Risk program wrapped up its ninth season Thursday at the Forks.

A dozen kids at a time learned fishing basics, from baiting a hook safely to releasing fish back into the water.

Instructor David Swan said Thursday that most of the kids involved have caught a fish. The fish in Winnipeg's rivers are edible, especially pickerel, but often the catfish are thrown back, he said.

Swan said Winnipeg's rivers are a unique resource that residents, both young and old, may often oversee.

"A lot of these kids ask me, 'Are we still in the city?' And I say, 'Well, yeah we're just on the Red River,'" he said.

Participants received a fishing rod at the end of the program, and Swan encourages them to try angling on their own — especially given The Forks is within walking distance of the inner city.

"A lot of these kids don't get the opportunity to go fishing at all, so for them this is a first," he said.

"It's quite satisfying to teach them something new and a hobby that they can kind of take with them for the rest of their life."

The program is part of Fish Futures, a volunteer-based organization dedicated to the conservation and enhancement of freshwater fisheries.