By Mark Reynolds
Recently, the Third Annual Cops N’ Bobbers Youth Fishing Tournament was held at Berean Park in Highland. Families brought their children to the park to try their hand at catching one or more of the 300 trout that had been stocked in the lake.
The Southern Ulster Times caught up with Sgt. Chris Miller on the morning of the tournament, he ran the four-hour event and a panel of judges from Boy Scout Troop 70 determined the winners who received trophies. Members of the Lloyd Rod and Gun Club lent a helping hand, “to get the kids set up and to introduce them to the outdoors.”
Miller said the tournament is a way for the Lloyd Police Department to give back to the kids in the community, “and to highlight our nice park.”
Miller said the event was sponsored by the Lloyd Police Benevolent Association and he thanked all of the local businesses for their donations that helped to pay for the fish and supplies, such as Troy’s Auto, the Highland Fire Department, the Highland Rotary and Gina Marie’z Dance Academy. Tectonic Health Care raffled off two bikes and Keepin It Reel Bait and Tackle donated all of the bait for the kids.
“We ordered about 365 fish from the Beaverkill Trout Hatchery in Livingston Manor and this morning they delivered brown and rainbow trout, including one 17-inch golden trout. No one has caught it yet but it is swimming around and they keep seeing it. It’s funny because it makes an appearance once in a while and you can see it real clearly and all the kids try to cast for it,” Miller said.
Trophies were handed out in three age categories: ages 1 to 5; 6 to 10 and 11 to 15, “and every kid who came gets a medallion whether they caught a fish or not.”
The winners were announced at the end of the tournament: for ages 1 to 5, Audrey Summerson caught the longest, a 17-inch pickerel; Giovanni Grote caught the most fish at 5; and Malia Turner was the youngest and caught a 10.25-inch brown trout.
In the 6-10 age category, Jacob Beafrei caught the longest Pickerel at 16.5 inches; James Murray caught the most number of fish at 14 and the youngest to catch a fish was Arron Woud.
In the 11-15 age bracket, Logan Nadeau caught the longest fish, a 21-inch rainbow trout; Derrick Cugan caught 18 chan pickerels and the Youngest was Ayden Woud.