Since we started ManVersusFish.com, we’ve had the privilege of covering some of the biggest events in fishing.
While each of those experiences have left us with memories that we will cherish all our lives, there are other, smaller events at tiny venues that have been some of the most heartwarming.
One of those was the Redlands Community Picnic & Fishing Derby. This event was held at a tiny local park named Ford Park on June 27, 2015.
The Derby was organized by Redlands Sunrise Rotary and Rotary Club of Redlands as well as being sponsored by Maupin Financial Advisors. Other businesses came out to support the Derby with sponsor booths, vendor booths and lent a hand to the young anglers who often had no experience fishing.
No admission was charged for attendees. There were demonstrations, fishing tackle available for those who had none, trophies awarded by age group, games and a Grand Prize of $1000 for the heaviest fish weighed by kids under 16.
Oh, the Excitement!
As we walked around the ponds, we heard the excitement from those children as they hooked, played and landed a fish. First timers who had yet to catch anything, were wide-eyed, looking at and touching a fish for the first time, eagerly anticipating their chance to do what the people next to them had just done – catch a fish!
Techniques, baits, tips, all were shared without hesitation. We saw many instances of an older child helping a younger one by rigging their bait for them then helping them cast. Going so far as to wait with them until they got a strike.
They didn’t hold back when they got their chance. Loudly alerting whomever was with them, “ I got one, I got one! Help me!”
Their ear to ear smiles as they proudly held up their catch for a picture reminded me of so many stories that my children and I still laugh about as we recount their first experiences with different species of fish.
Of course, there were frustrations with this many people fishing such a small pond. Crossed lines were common, miscasts were the rule, missed fish were plenty but non of these things dampened the spirits of most of the young anglers. They either got help to get them back on course or figured it out themselves and kept right on fishing.
Some of them went down to a field below the lakes where they could try fly casting for the first time. The instructor was having a ball teaching the kids one by one. Spending time with each of them to answer any question the youngster had, always leaving them with a sense of accomplishment for having learned the fundamentals of casting with a fly rod.
As the day wore on, more people joined the event while some left having spent an enjoyable morning learning about this wonderful pastime of fishing.
The Awards
Those in contention for either the Grand Prize or one the trophies gathered together at the presentation. Each time a name was called and trophy awarded, the rest of the gallery was quick to clap exhibiting a level of sportsmanship that too often these days isn’t present.
Many of these kids walked away asking their parents when they could go fishing again, where they would go, when they would get their own equipment and most importantly, “Thank you for taking me!”
Hopefully, this experience will ignite a life-long passion in some of them as it did for one of the hottest anglers on tour, Brent Ehrler.
A few years ago, we published an article about Brent, how he had learned to fish at this very same park, Ford Park in Redlands. He used his early experiences on these small ponds to experiment with and master different bass fishing techniques. Eventually parlaying them into a career as a professional bass fisherman.
I suppose this is why these small events have such a special place in our hearts. Not that everyone who participated is going to become a Classic contender, but they all have the opportunity to learn, practice, experiment and feed that drive at a place like this.
The truth be known, my children and I too have spent many hours on the shore of these very same little ponds when they were knee high to a grass hopper fishing with conventional tackle as well as fly gear.
In our case the result was not a career in professional bass fishing but rather an appreciation for the sport that has lead to many wonderful experiences covering fishing as media.
Who knows, there may come a day when we meet another young angler on tour who’s story begins with a Derby, a Derby at Ford Park.
Thank you to all the sponsors who worked so hard to put this together, the volunteer’s who spent their day helping others, the parents who were willing to take a Saturday to give their children the chance to learn something new and most of all the kids without whom all of this work would have meant nothing.
We truly appreciate everyone’s efforts that went into making this a successful event.
Without these kinds of events, where would the next generation of professional angler’s come from?
See ya’ on the water …