27th annual fishing derby held at Lake Park
Calob Patterson, 14, of Fresno, holds up two of the several large trout he caught at the 27th Annual Fishing Derby, sponsored by the Coshocton County Sportsman’s Association and Friends of the Park. The event was held at the park on Saturday, May 4.
COSHOCTON – About an hour into the 27th annual fishing derby, 10 trout had already been caught at Lake Park by one of the more than 200 children registered for the event.
“Kids can still register until 1 p.m.,” said Bob Bigrigg, treasurer of the Coshocton County Sportsman’s Association (CCSA) and general chairman of the event. “I’m sure more will come as soccer games and other events finish up. The wind has started to blow, so we are hoping the rain holds off until 2 p.m.”
The CCSA and Friends of the Park donated about $2,300 worth of fish for the event and the fish were released the day before the fishing derby. For every fish over 10 inches that was caught, the child who caught it won a 10 dollar bill. There were also first ($25), second ($15) and third ($10) prizes in each age group for the largest fish. More than $1,100 in donated items was available as door prizes.
“It takes about an hour to give away all of the door prizes,” said Bigrigg.
Every child who registered for the derby was entered into the drawing for the door prizes.
Prizes included fishing equipment, sporting equipment and other items. Bikes were also given away.
“We do this every year because we get so many comments from people thanking us for doing it and how much they enjoy it,” said Bigrigg. “It’s an event that brings people to the park system so they can see what a beautiful, natural resource we have. And the volunteers really enjoy it. We couldn’t do it without so many people helping.
“Kids don’t forget it. It’s become generational. We have young men and women coming now that fished in it as kids and now they are bringing their children.
“James ‘Bunk’ Bice passed away a while ago and instead of flowers, his family asked for memorial donations to be made for the fishing derby. He was a great guy and we want to thank his family for thinking of this event.”
Calob Patterson, 14, of Fresno, was one of the many people fishing around the lake. He was known as “the man” for this event because within the first hour, he had already caught six or seven trout.
“I threw a few back, too,” said Patterson.
His largest at that point was 15.25” long. He said his secret to catching so many fish was using live bait and he chose to bring minnows with him. Patterson said he has been coming to the fishing derby since he was really little.
