Five-year-old A’mya Acevedo stands on the shoreline, watching the sunlight glint off the water through leopard-print glasses. Her bright pink shirt and matching fishing pole are a winning combo, and by 10 a.m., she’s already caught four bass.

“I cast it far, and I move the pole side to side,” she said. “The beach is my favorite part.”

Acevedo goes fishing at least once a week, and although she’s a Dartmouth resident, it’s usually in Little Compton. But on August 6, she’s entered in a fishing tournament at Mello’s Pond—the private property off of Old Westport Road that has hosted the event for the past 27 years.

The "Get Hooked on Fishing, Not on Drugs" annual event is sponsored by the Knights of Columbus. Every year, kids ages 6-16 try to place in (at least) one of three categories: largest fish, total weight, and total quantity.

This year, organizer Ed Viveiros needed 14 pounds of shiners—with 60-84 of the silvery, large-scale minnows in each pound—to supply the 68 fishers and their families with bait. Not all of them end up on a fishing line however.

“If I see little shiners, I’ll just throw them in the water,” said Acevedo, picking two dead fish out of the sand with her bare hands and tossing them into the pond. “He wasn’t that gooey. He was dry.”

Twelve-year-old Jason Sturges lost a few of his shiners—and a hook— to a snapping turtle, but he’ll have next year to try again. His father, Jim Sturges, has been bringing his three children to the tournament for six years.

Usually the event is in June, which is better, said Jim. The water’s cooler and the fish are biting. He explained that once the water heats up, fish hide in the colder water in the depths of the pond.

The Tiverton family isn’t the only one who’s had no luck on the water. Dartmouth’s Daniel Mumma, 14, has changed location and bait several times. Now, he’s trying a frog lure.

“I’d like to see him catch one, but that’s the thing about fishing. You never know,” said his mom, Deb Mumma.

That’s not really the best part of fishing, said seven-year-old Cash Jerome. “It’s fun anyways, even though you don’t win the prize.” Jerome is joined by his father, Jeff Jerome. Although the pair have caught one fish on the line, it got away before they could reel it in.

That’s part of the fun, said 12-year-old Cody Raposa. “Basically, you can get peace and quiet. And then you catch a fish, and get a little bit of excitement,” he said.

Cheyenne Raposa, father of the New Bedford native, grew up in Dartmouth. “There used to be some big fish in this pond when I was a kid,” he said.

The Raposas are not the only family passing on fishing as tradition. “I dragged them along. I figured it’d be something fun for them to do today, to bring them out fishing,” said Jeff Adamczyk of Taunton.

Adamczyk serves as the “bait guy” for his 15-year-old daughter Tauri Adamczyk and her friend Carolina Ramirez. They hand him empty hooks and he threads a shiner or worm onto it. “I grew up fishing. That’s what my family did. I want to pass it along to the kids,” he said. Both girls will place in the top three for most fish caught, alongside Acevedo.

For organizers Viveiros and Bob Peckham, the event is just as much about tradition as it is helping kids. This was the first year holding the event without idea-man Lieutenant Ken Cotta, who passed away in January.

“The first thing Eddie and I said to each other is we’re going to keep this going. I’m so glad we did,” said Peckham.

Cotta, a Dartmouth policeman, and Peckham were involved in the Acushnet-based Stream and Lakers Fishing Club, where the two first spawned the idea. Cotta was also involved in the local DARE program, said Peckham. The event took on a theme—borrowed from the Future Fisherman Foundation—“Get hooked on fishing, not on drugs.” The slogan adorned the hats handed out to every child at the event.

“I never imagined doing this without Kenny,” said Peckham. “For one-to-two months each year, this was his life. He was a great man.”

The purpose was so impactful, Cotta’s granddaughter joined the cause in his place. Twenty-year-old Tyler Cotta helped with check-in and tracked fishing records for the four-hour event.

“When I was little, my grandfather would take me here. I wanted to make sure everything kept going,” she said.

Viveiros called the event a success, saying there’s been a resurgence of interest in the sport. When it first started, he said, about 120 kids registered. That number dropped to the low 40s a few years ago, but about 60 kids have registered for the past couple of years, he said.

“A lot of places tried to copy it, but we’re blessed with this pond,” he said, crediting owner Bob Mello and his son Matthew Mello for the access.

Viveiros said he loves seeing the kids have fun, especially when they win a raffle. Both the bait and the raffles were all donated, he said. Every kid got to take home a gift, such a brand new fishing pole, tackle box, or lures.

But it wasn’t just the kids who had fun. As the crowd cleared out, a man dressed in a brown button-down and khakis walked through with his fishing pole. “Can I go fish now?” he asked Viveiros.