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Codi Hamblin
Toby Adams of Sedro-Woolley helps his daughter Emma Adams unhook a fish she caught Saturday at Northern State Pond during the kids’ annual fishing derby sponsored by the Wildcat Steelhead Club. Toby Adams, 31, said he has attended the derby for the last 26 years and is passing the tradition on to his three children.
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Saturday’s showers didn’t stop families from loading up the kids, fishing poles and tackle boxes for a day of fishing at Northern State Pond.
Children 14 and under reeled in trout while adults adjusted fishing lines and reloaded bait at the annual kids’ fishing derby sponsored by Sedro-Woolley’s Wildcat Steelhead Club.
The pond is restocked each year with more than 1,000 fish for the event, said Don Collen, Wildcat Steelhead Club member.
The derby is a way to get children involved with fishing and the outdoors, he said. The club has tried to provide a place where kids can have a good time.
“My highlight of the event is when kids come up with a stringer of fish and a smile across their face,” Collen said. “That makes me feel good.”
For some families it was the first time attending the event, for others it has been a family tradition.
Sedro-Woolley resident Toby Adams, 31, said he recalls fishing at the derby when he was 5 and said it has since become a family tradition as he’s attended for the past 26 years. Adams has passed the tradition on to his three young children for the past seven years.
The family’s children collectively caught about 10 fish this past Saturday, Adams said as he helped his daughter Emma plop a fresh catch into a bucket.
The children look forward to it each year, said Amie Adams, the children’s mother.
“This is their opening day,” she said.
At the other end of the pond twin brothers Ethan and Daniel Lachance of Bay View sat patiently with poles in hand, waiting for a fish to bite. One of the brothers felt a yank on the line and soon both brothers had a fish on their lines.
The boys have come to the derby for the past six years, said Bernie Lachance, the boys’ father. Ethan said he and his brother enjoy catching the fish and look forward to eating them.
The fishing derby is just a lot of fun for the children, said Karen Dinkins, Wildcat Steelhead Club member and derby chairwoman. “I think our club members have more fun than the kids sometimes,” she joked.
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