Bloomingdale pond gets new residents

On most days you can find anglers trying every trick they know to pull a nice largemouth bass out of the pond in Bloomingdale’s Lakeview Park.

Saturday morning, however, several dozen families lined up to put fish into the pond.

Participation in the annual restocking event sponsored by the Bloomingdale-Roselle Rotary Club has increased every year. And while stocking the ponds, they also help stock the Bloomingdale Food Pantry because participants are asked to bring a nonperishable food donation.

“This is a very popular fishing lake because it’s not uncommon for some nice largemouth bass and panfish to be caught and released here,” said Ed Reidy, director of parks and planning. “So it’s popular for fishing, but the kids also like to see and interact with the little fish as they release them.”

Released into the lake were 140 channel catfish, 70 largemouth bass, 180 hybrid sunfish and 12 pounds of minnows to serve as a food source for both the pond’s longtime residents and their new neighbors.

Dan Seranowski and his 6-year-old son Michael, of Bloomingdale, like to fish the lake on weekends, especially since the new fishing pier was added last year. Dan thought helping stock the pond would be fun and a good lesson for his young angler.

“We try to be good stewards of the resources around us and we always catch and release,” he said. “So I thought this would be a great way to show Michael how many of the fish we catch get here.”