Tristan and Ireland Saunders of King George County, Va. entered in this year's Fishing Derby held from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. on May 10th from at a stocked pond in the county. The fishing derby, which was held by the King George Parks and Recreation and The Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, was limited to the first 100 children entered in for the competition. Game Warden Frank Spuchesi oversaw the event and ensured that the rules & regulations were upheld and maintained for the competition.
Tristan made his cast after we relocated to another side of the pond. Tristan asked me if he could use an old lure from my old tackle box that was given to me by my great grandfather Eugene Dunn. He used an old top water minnow lure that I bought from Hockman’s Hardware store back home in Missouri when I was a kid. It was shortly after making the cast that he hooked the fish. It took him a little over five minutes to land his prize. He caught a 15 ½” largemouth bass which he was very proud of. We then put the bass in a cooler and checked it in once the competition ended. We then made our way up to the main tent where they were raffling off the prizes for the derby, as well as handing out the medals and trophies to all the kids. All the children who participated received a medal for the Fishing Derby. Those who had the biggest fish received a trophy. Trophies were given for first, second and thrid place for each age bracket. Tristan took second place for the 6-to-8-year-old bracket. The Fishing Derby was a success due in part to large amount of local sponsors donating fishing gear for the kids and the County for holding the event.
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