Moosehorn NWR's 12th Annual Children's Fishing Derby is a Soggy but Fun Event
Check out pictures from this year's event
Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge and the Friends of Moosehorn's 12th Annual Children's Fishing Derby was a great success, despite the relentless drizzle and cool temperatures. The derby was held on the Refuge at Headquarters Pond behind the main office of Cobscook Bay State Park. The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife stocked hundreds of brook trout in the pond prior to the event to make the derby more rewarding and exciting for the children. Participation was lower than normal because of the rain, with only 82 children participating, but those who did attend all genuinely enjoyed themselves nonetheless. About 83 adults and other family members accompanied the young anglers, and 17 volunteers, refuge staff, and state park employees were on hand to run the event.
Unfortunately, the fish weren’t biting well this year, which was probably primarily a function of the weather. Sixty-six trout were caught by the children, for an average catch of only 0.8 fish per child. The fish seemed to be concentrated at a few different sites in the pond, so some kids were more successful than others, depending upon their location along the shoreline. Surprisingly, several children caught bullfrogs during the derby too, all of which were returned safely to the water after the children had thoroughly investigated them, since they weren’t on the menu that day. Perhaps even more surprisingly, and as a testament to the hardiness of the people of eastern Maine, most people stayed for the whole 2 hours of the derby, and everyone was in good cheer, despite the foul weather.
Every child who participated in the event received a registration bag containing a small amount of fishing tackle, stickers, information about where to fish on the refuge, and other goodies. The Refuge’s Friends Group, local businesses, and the Refuge donated prizes to be given out during the event and food to be served to derby participants and their guests. This year, the children competed for prizes within 3 different age classes: 0-6, 7-10, and 11-16 years of age. Within each age group, new fishing poles were given to the 3 young anglers with the best catches. Several other random prizes were also awarded, such as a headlamp, binoculars, fishing gear, and a savings account so that even the fishless anglers had a chance to win a prize.
Free hotdogs, drinks, chips, and cookies were prepared by the Friends Group and provided for everyone present. By the end of the derby, 300 free hotdogs had been consumed by the 182 people present, giving an average hotdog consumption rate of 1.6 hotdogs per person. This means that a child’s chance of catching a hotdog was exactly twice his or her chance of catching a fish! We’re requesting better fishing weather for next year’s event . . .
Moosehorn's Children's Fishing Derby is an annual event coordinated jointly by Moosehorn NWR, the Friends of Moosehorn, Cobscook Bay State Park, and Region 5 of the USFWS. The purpose of the event is to get kids outdoors, teach them about fishing, and give them a memorable and enjoyable experience on their National Wildlife Refuge. Local businesses and individuals donate much of the food and many of the prizes and other materials for the derby. This year’s list of contributors includes Bangor Savings Bank, Burger King of Calais, Coca-Cola of Bangor, Coffin’s True Value of Machias, Dunkin’ Donuts of Calais, Friends of Moosehorn support group, Frito-Lay, IGA of Calais, Johnson’s True Value of Calais, McDonald’s of Calais, Paradis Shop N Save of Calais, Robert Heath of Sherman, and Walmart of Calais, Maine.