We had a fun day fishing today at the Blackstone Valley Fishing Derby in Upton, MA. They stocked Pratt Pond full of trout, and that’s what the tournament was supposed to be awarding prizes for. Unfortunately, very few trout were caught by anyone (we were fishing the right way for them, and still didn’t get a hook-up). So, for the second year in a row, I think we ended up tossing a winner back in without measuring it: within the first 15 minutes, Rebecca pulled a nice little Pickerel out, but I immediately released it.
Worms ruled the day for us. We tried a whole bunch of baits and lures, but none of the Powerbaits were all that effective. Salmon eggs were pretty good, both bottom feeding (for trout) and bobber-fishing when we heard that they’d opened up the categories for other fish. Jacob was getting some very impressive casts with his rig, but also caught a few trees too!
Anyway, I was surprised at how few people showed up for the event. Maybe it was me, but I expected to see a lot more kids fishing. We’re looking forward to the Upton Police Derby in June, and I plan on showing up early to get a good spot, and bringing both minnows and a few dozen nightcrawlers.
Thanks to a suggestion by a friend of mine at work (thanks Cliff!) we all headed out to the 20th Annual Upton Police Fishing Derby today. It was at Pratt Pond in Upton, and we were amazed at the amount of people who showed up! We were there early, and got a pretty good spot.
Jacob caught a nice perch early on, and almost placed with it (he was a 1/2″ short). Rebecca caught a catfish, and that was just shy too. But Jacob got his wish of not only a “first bass”, but also a trophy bass! All-in-all, we had a great day, met some really nice folks, and found out about a local bait-and-tackle shop that I’ll be visiting often for minnows. For what it’s worth, I think Rebecca would have gotten a trophy on the first fish she caught, which was a decent sized Bluegill, but I didn’t realize that there was a category for it, and threw it back – ah well!
Images from our day of fishing in Upton on June 6, 2009. Jacob came away with a trophy!
4 Photos
We took the opportunity to go fishing today. It was a gorgeous spring day, and the older two had been bugging me for weeks to get some line wet, so we got some nightcrawlers and headed to a local lake. Everyone got their share of bluegills, but we were all surprised when Rebecca hooked into a largemouth! It was small enough not to give her any trouble reeling it in on her ultralight gear, but it definitely fought more than the other fish she’d caught earlier.
Here’s a snapshot of the moment:
