Fishing derby lures contenders into reel test of patience

LAKEVILLE — Anglers often observe that sudden changes in the weather tend to put fish off their feed.

That certainly seemed to be the case in the early going at the children’s fishing derby at the Grove in Lakeville Saturday, April 19.

It was considerably warmer out than the day before. In fact, by mid-afternoon it was almost hot.

And it was humid.

So the fish should have been dashing around eating everything in sight and celebrating the end of winter.

But as is often the case with angling, theory does not always match up with reality.

This is why it’s called “fishing” and not “catching.”

Around 8 a.m. there were plenty of young anglers around Factory Pond, casting away.

But the only things that seemed to be getting caught were tree branches and underwater vegetation.

A girl hooked a trout and her helpers tried to net it. Alas, it was not to be. But they shrugged it off and kept fishing at Factory Pond during the Kids Fishing Derby in Lakeville Saturday, April 19. Patrick L. Sullivan

At last one youngster hooked a trout by the pond’s outlet, and a grown up rallied with a net that proved to be a little deficient in handle length.

After much splashing and fuss, the fish disappeared back into the depths.

Cady Soule of North Canaan got set up, and after a brief refresher course in how to work the reel, sent her rig into a tree.

She did not let this momentary setback discourage her. With some assistance, she was back at it, with the bait in the water this time, within a couple of minutes.

She was also very well-informed about worms. “They have five brains,” she said.

First to Catch a Fish

Age 6 and under

Remington Hogan

Age 7 and 8

Cady Soule

Age 9 and 10

Two winners, May Brzyski and Bianca Brandson

Age 11 and 12

Rylan Soule

Age 13 to 15

Andy Richardson

Largest Fish

Remington Hogan, age 5

None of the contestants caught their limit of five fish.