Fourth-Grader Hooks Winning Catfish at Annual Derby

The Doobie Brothers said the catfish were jumping in the "old Black Water," but on May 18, the catfish were jumping in Dealaman Pond as contestants in Warren's annual fishing derby reeled them in.

Fourth-grade student Joe Merklinker landed a 22-inch channel catfish to win the the event's grand prize, which included a new fishing pole, one of 12 donated by the Warren Blue Ridge Sportsmen's Club for the derby.

The derby has been organized for 28 years by Bruce Vitale, while the sportsmen club purchases all the food and cooks it. Club members also help the kids with hooks, lines and lending poles.

"We served 520 pounds of hamburgers and hot dogs, nine pounds of zepolies and 15 gallons of Italian ice—plus 15 cases of water and 10 cases of sips," Recreation Director Eleanora Hermann said.

The top two largest fish win in each category plus the grand prize winner for the biggest fish. The category winners were:

• Lance Garcia, 1^st place    21” channel catfish
• Sandy Nunuz, 2^nd place  20” channel catfish
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• Chris Burton, 1^st place  20” channel catfish
• Giona Bove, 2^nd place   19” channel catfish
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• Kevin Butterfield, 1^st place  20” channel catfish
• Kaitlyn Linton, 2^nd place   20” channel catfish
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• Jared Epstein, 1^st place     21” channel catfish
• Emmett Gallic, 2^nd place   20-1/2” channel catfish
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• Mylan Dettling, 1^st place     20” channel catfish
• Clayton Bush, 2^nd place      18” channel catfish