For the 21st time, the Southwest Outdoors Club welcomed over 250 youngsters and their parents to share in some family fun at their Annual Kidz Fishing Derby on Saturday, July 5 at Wheatley Harbour.
Seen as a way to give back to the community, the club provided an active-living prize for every child, a free hot dog lunch, a bike draw and awards for the biggest fish that were landed.
Dan Reive, President of the Southwest Outdoors Club, said, “This event helps to get kids outside and we hope they end up developing a love of the outdoors.”
Reive also wanted to express his thanks to Leamington’s Real Canadian Superstore, the Tilbury Auto Mall and Leamington’s Canadian Tire for their help in making the derby such a wonderful family-friendly outing.
H.R. Desa Enterprises of Pain Court provided 1,300 worms for the fishers, who caught the gamut of fish species including sheepshead, carp, bullhead, catfish, perch, bluegill and even a rare burbot, all on a hot but breezy morning.
Longest fish winners included: Hadley Warren with an 11 inch carp in the under 3 years of age category, Joshua Kay with a 10 and a half inch catfish in the 4 to 7 years of age category, Violet Getty with a 23 inch burbot in the 8 to 12 years of age category, and Phillip Boiciuc with a 16 and three-quarters inch sheepshead in the 13 to 17 years of age category.
Ear to ear smiles could be seen on the faces of the eight winners in the derby’s culminating feature, the ever-popular bike draw. Winners in the draw included: Hazel Neufeld and Bentley Ives in the under 3 years of age category, Lux Hyatt and Sammy Boiciuc in the 4 to 7 years of age category, Mya Fehr and Josiah Hamm in the 8 to 12 years of age category, and Estrella Amaya and Cohen Vollick in the 13 to 17 years of age category.
Two of the four longest fish winners at this year’s fishing derby were Violet Getty, left, who won in the 8-12 years of age category with her burbot, which was also the longest fish overall at 23 inches. On the right is Joshua Kay, who won in the 4-7 years of age category with his catfish that measured just short of 11 inches.
SUN photo by Paul Forman
Two-year old Cash Brown of Wheatley is pictured bringing over his bullhead catch to the derby’s measuring table.
SUN photo by Paul Forman
The Hamm family made their annual trek to the fishing derby at the harbour in Wheatley. Pictured are Dawson and Amy seated, behind is mom Martha, along with Aiden, Brandon and Carson.
SUN photo by Paul Forman
