Fish Tales: Really, I Won a Trophy

Sunset Hills annual Fishing Derby Wednesday at Watson Trail Park Lake had lots of kids who, with the help of parents, wrangled in fish and got them weighed.

The main catch of the day seemed to be catfish. Evelyn Westerhold, park secretary for the city Parks and Recreation Department, single-handedly removed each hook with pliers and plunked the catch on a scale.

"I've been doing this for 23, 24 years. I've been fishing my whole life," Westerhold said, while she wrestled a fish onto the scale. 

The majority of kids returned their catches to the lake.

Twelve trophies were handed out in different age groups after the hour-and-a-half fishing period, trophies for—what else—biggest (heaviest) fish, smallest (lightest) fish and greatest number of fish reeled in.

A steady stream of customers lined up at the weighing-in table since contestants seem to simply cast their baited lines from the lake's edge and minutes later pulled out a fish.

Some 20 Boy Scouts were there, according to Leader Kevin Harrison of Troop 331. About half of those were earning merit badges and getting signatures from Herb Pyne, city recreation supervisor, to confirm their participation.

Harrison said the lake was stocked a day earlier with four albino fish, and if one was caught, there was a $100 prize. If two were caught by different people, the $100 prize would be split evenly, and so on up to a four-way split. However, no albino fish was seen during the Derby.

The Derby contest was busy and those fishing scrambled to get the right catch by deadline. Therefore, not everyone is identified in the photos here—so as not to hinder his and her chances in the competition. Parents typically supervised care of the hooks, bait, and younger siblings.