Young anglers reel in fish, trophies, prizes

BY

Despite the heat, which reached nearly 110 by afternoon, approximately 170 young anglers from all over the community picked up their rods and headed to the lake last Saturday to participate in the annual Canyon Lake Kids Fishing Derby for ages 5 to 15. They fished for the largest catfish, bluegill and crappie they could catch. No bass were allowed.

Put on by the Canyon Lake Bassmasters, Bassmasters President Travis Smith said that the number of kids was a bit low “probably because of the heat.”

Registration and fishing began at 6 a.m. Fishing was allowed anywhere on Canyon Lake and kids could be seen with lines cast all over the community, from docks, yards, parks, beaches, boats and even Happy Camp.

The final weigh-in, which occurred a little early due to the heat, took place at Holiday Harbor, followed by a free lunch that included over 600 hot dogs as well as chips, water and soda provided by the Bassmasters, and snow cones by ABC Bounce.

The trophy winners were as follows:

Austin Moreno, 13.94 lbs

Emily Nedolson, 12.40 lbs

Hayden Richardson, 10.98 lbs

Austin Humphrey, 10.96 lbs

Aidan Moreno, 10.40 lbs

Kaydence VerDoorn, 10.36 lbs

Hailey McCook, 5.50 lbs

Tyler Van Deter, 5.18 lbs

Heath Lewis, 4.98 lbs

Colin Miller, 9.66 lbs, Big Fish Boy

Kylee Moreno, 7.7l lbs, Big Fish Girl

Nolan Smith, 7.88 lbs, Big Catfish

Jordan Boyd, .84 lbs, Big Crappie

Joshua Runion, .60 lbs, Big Bluegill

This year’s sponsors donated hundreds of prizes (or money to purchase prizes) for the drawing. Travis says, “We spent about $3,000 at Walmart alone!” There was a separate drawing, with every ticket holder eligible for four bicycles and an Aqua LilyPad. Every participant received a ticket for the prize drawing whether they weighed in a fish or not, and additional tickets could be purchased.

Sponsors included ABC Bounce Co., All Signs, Aqua Lily Pad, Diawa, Hoffman Painting, Canyon Lake Lions Club, Coldwell Bank REalty, Canyon Lake Insurance, Ben Chilibolost, Last Chance Bate & Tackle, TST Water, LLC, Sports Stop Pub & Grill, Perris Pawn Accurate, Jim Wright Hardwood Floors, Inc., All American Injection Molding Services, Bass Underground, Joe’s Hardware, Walmart and Pete’s Music.