Corrales hosts free fishing and family outdoor adventure day

Families gathered at Liam Knight Pond in Corrales for a low-cost day outdoors that blended fishing, archery and target shooting into one local event. The sixth annual Outdoor Adventure Day gave Bernalillo County children a chance to spend a summer morning on the water instead of indoors, with free fishing timed to New Mexico’s free-fishing weekend.

The event ran from 7:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, June 6, 2026, and was co-hosted by the New Mexico Department of Wildlife and Corrales Parks and Recreation. The youth fishing derby was open to anglers 17 and under, and prizes were awarded for the largest and smallest fish. Alongside the pond, children and their families could move between archery and pellet gun ranges and take part in shooting competitions, turning the day into a full outdoor festival rather than a single fishing stop.

The timing mattered for families looking for inexpensive summer recreation. During free-fishing weekend, the state suspended fishing license requirements statewide while keeping bag limits and other regulations in place. The Department of Wildlife said the weekend is tied to National Boating and Fishing Week, a statewide push to get residents outdoors and into public waters without the added cost of a license.

At Liam Knight Pond, that access carried extra weight. Corrales Parks and Recreation lists the pond as one of the village’s managed recreational facilities, making it a community asset as well as a fishing spot. The event’s bag limit was two catfish per angler, giving young fishers a simple, defined rule set while they learned the basics of angling in a supervised setting.

The Corrales gathering also fit into a larger state calendar that included other youth and family fishing events across New Mexico that same weekend. In a county that stretches from Albuquerque’s urban neighborhoods to the village communities along the Rio Grande, Outdoor Adventure Day stood out for keeping recreation simple, local and free. Organizers hope to make next year’s event even bigger, a sign that the pond is becoming a regular place for children to connect with nature and for families to claim public outdoor space together.