SAXTONS RIVER, Vt. – Good weather and friendly competition brought out 70 youth anglers for this year’s Saxtons River Recreation Area fishing derby.
Winners this year were: First Fish: Henry Lovell (ages 4–6), Lily Justice (7–10), and Braden Wyman 11–14); Biggest Fish: Cason Mack (4–6), Lacy Kissel (7–10), and Maddison Duby (11–14); and Most Fish: Henry Lovell (4–6), Theo Bennett (7–10), and Izzy Stoodley (11–14).
“It’s always great to see the kids, big and small, dart to the tables to be that first fish recorded, and our 11–14 group today didn’t disappoint with a mere millisecond difference,” said event organizer Samantha Fletcher. “It was literally which fish hit the table first!”
Special guests at the derby were Wardens David Taddei and David Lockerby of the Vermont Department of Fish and Game.
Fletcher cited Boy Scouts from Troop 252 in Springfield for their help with the derby, including Izzy Stoodley, Peter Sargent, Carl Long Jr., Matt and Nicholas Burlew, Allison and Quincy Knapp, and Jackson Fletcher, as well as volunteers Erin and Zander Johnson, Scott Fletcher, and Janet Perry.