Seven-year-old Aizea Rodriguez jumped up and down excitedly as he hooked a big tilapia on his bamboo pole. Not to be outdone, his 6-year-old cousin Jaizeah Tate chimed that he had caught more than 15 fish.

"The kids are having a ball," said their grandfather Jerrell Tate, senior pastor at Abundant Life Christian Fellowship in Ewa Beach. "We’re going to take fish home to cook for dinner. We have about 7 pounds, and we threw about 60 fish back."

The boys and Tate were spending the day at a new recreational fishing program at Alii Agricultural Farms in Wahiawa. It’s not just a catch-and-release activity; anglers can opt for catch-and-cook.

Ba "T.C." Thee, president of Alii Agricultural Farms, will clean and prepare the fish on-site and serve it on a platter with rice for $4 per pound plus a $6 preparation charge. People can choose to have their fish fried, steamed, broiled or prepared in a soup. Thee offers an array of sauces including sweet and sour, sweet chili and black bean.

"I’m trying to cater to what they want," he said. "We want people to have local tilapia, not the frozen kind that’s shipped from the mainland."

Families can bring in their own food and drinks to enjoy in the picnic area, but they are not allowed to cook the fish they catch while on-site.

The 68-acre farm was acquired by the Thee family in 2009. Located near the entrance to the property are the four quarter-acre fishponds and a quaint fishing shack where bamboo poles and a dough bait with a "secret ingredient" can be picked up. It costs $15 per person for four hours of fishing, use of a pole and bait; parents and others don’t need to pay if they’re only there to supervise.

Thee earned degrees in agriculture and agribusiness at Brigham Young University-Hawaii in Laie. His main business is Alii Turf, a turf and sod farm, but the Thees decided to add the fishing component for local families. The ponds opened in mid-April after Thee spent about three months digging them. Reservoir water from a well is pumped into the ponds and later used to irrigate the turf.

The ponds are stocked with a hybrid tilapia, in four different colors, Chinese catfish and grass carp.

"We’ve had family reunions where the kids are fishing along with the grandmas," said Thee’s wife and company vice president Shauna Thee. "It’s a really fun experience even for people that have never fished before."

Maryann Madrid of Mililani was fishing with her daughter Kaszlen, 9, for the second time. Kaszlen had just hooked one and walked it over to her mom, still on the line, for removal.

"It’s fun because you can always catch fish, and it’s relaxing," said Madrid, donning gloves so she could unhook and release the fish back into the pond since they weren’t planning on taking any home.

"The last time we were here, I took off the fish with my bare hands, and it was so slimy," she said.

Ten-year-old Alex Chromczak of Wahiawa caught his first fish within five minutes and added more than half a dozen over the next 30 minutes. "I’ve been fishing since I was 2," he said proudly, a big smile on his face as he showed off his catch.

He was on an outing with his 12-year-old friend Christopher Nance and his mother, Jessie Chromczak, who was pleased by their excitement.

"It’s been a great day," she said. "It’s close to home, and the kids are having so much fun."