Teagan Hanson, 5, left, Terrin Hanson, 9, Trenton Hanson, 13, and Tucker Whitworth, 7, show off the fish they have caught during the early afternoon of Aug. 5. Photo by Ashley Grogan

Sports

Junior Fishing Derby sees many smiles from local youth

August 22, 2017August 24, 2017 Ashley Grogan, Sports Editor

Alyson Crosby, 5, poses with her dad’s fishing pole after spending a majority of her morning fishing. Photo by Ashley Grogan

Scotty Hanson, 10, made his way through the foliage by the Susan River to get a prime spot for the Junior Fishing Derby held on Aug. 5. Photo by Ashley Grogan

On Aug. 5, the 28th annual Junior Fishing Derby brought nearly 150 local participants to the banks of the Susan River for a day filled with fishing.

Though the derby is normally held along the Piute Creek that borders Susanville’s Memorial Park, the obscure weather seen throughout 2017 caused the creek to be unsuitable for releasing and catching fish.

Thus, this year’s derby was held along the Susan River with general boundaries limiting participants to the section of the river that runs between Hobo Camp and the bridge nearest the Pat Murphy Little League fields.

The derby is also usually held in spring rather than summer, but again due to weather, the event was postponed to the beginning of August.

Trent Brown, 14, left, Haley Brown, 11, and Gage Armstead, 3, have certainly been lucky while fishing the Susan River behind Lassen High School for the Junior Fishing Derby held on Aug. 5. Photo by Ashley Grogan

Although the change in date caused the number of participants to fall from previous years, the percentage of participants who left with raffle prizes, large fish and smiles more than doubled.

According to derby committee member Jim Chapman, the Lassen Sportsmen’s Junior Fishing Derby committee spent $3,750 on fish for the event, which equaled approximately 2,100 pounds of fish donated to the Susan River.

The contestants were divided into four groups based on gender and age. The first-place finisher in each division earned a bicycle. The second-place winner earned a fishing pole, and the third-place contestant earned a tackle box.

In addition to the top three winners of each division, each contestant was given a raffle ticket for a raffle held at the end of the event. Raffle prizes included a hiking backpack, many coupons to local pizza restaurants, gift certificates for local hunting and fishing stores and boxes of donuts.

Though the results from all the young fishermen and fisherwomen were not available at time of publication, the first- through third-place finishers and his or her top fish’s weight and length are as followed:

Boys ages 2-5 years:

1. Gage Armstead, 3 pounds, 18.75 inches; 2. Jace Dixon, 2 pounds and 4 ounces, 17.75 inches; 3. Sam Johnson, 2 pounds and 2 ounces, 17 inches.

Girls ages 2-5 years:

1. Payton Cox, 2 pounds and 7 ounces, 18.5 inches; 2. Harlow Lively, 2 pounds and 5 ounces, 17.5 inches; 3. Stasi Hinzebuff, 1 pound and 15 ounces, 17.5 inches.

Boys ages 6-15 years:

1. Zachariah Shihadah, 2 pounds and 6 ounces, 17 inches; 2. Wyatt Barton, 2 pounds and 2 ounces, 17.5 inches; 3. Grayson Glover, 2 pounds and 2 ounces, 17.25 inches.

Girls ages 6-15 years:

1. Olivia Shanahan, 2 pounds and 14 ounces, 19 inches; 2. Maria Azulara, 2 pounds and 6 ounces, 17.75 inches; 3. Hayley Brown, 2 pounds and 5 ounces, 17.25 inches.