Park pond stocked up for kids’ fishing competition
NEW PHILADELPHIA (WJER) (April 25, 2024) – Young anglers are getting another chance to sharpen their skills and compete for prizes.
The second annual New Philadelphia Trout Derby is Saturday from 8 am until noon at the Tuscora Park pond. Organizers Mitch Pace and Jeff Miller say it will be another great event for the community and the kids, who can win gear or one of several chartered fishing trips on Lake Erie.
“We’ve got 15 or 16 rod/reel combos to give away, roughly 25 tackle assortment bags to give away, and we’re going to have this year is the ability to send some families on some neat fishing trips,” Miller said.
There’s no entry fee, but participants need to provide their own fishing rod.
“Last Stop Tackle Shop will be on site with their portable fishing trailer. They will have all kinds of bait and tackle geared towards the trout, so there will be some tackle on site to be purchased, but that’s really about all we have,” said Pace.
The city has a five-year agreement with ODNR, which stocked the pond with hundreds of rainbow trout between 10 and 13 inches in size.
“Obviously, we want families fishing together but we really want to push for the kids to be fishing and grandparents, parents assisting. There’s gonna be plenty of trout left after the event, so if you’re an adult looking to catch trout, if you could just please hold off until the event is over.”
Pre-registration isn’t required but earns the participant an automatic entry for the fishing trip of their choice. There’s a link to the form on the New Philadelphia Trout Derby Facebook page.