Los Angeles Rod & Reel 10th Annual Special Needs Childrens Trout Derby Lots of Pics!
The 10th annual Lou Berke special-needs Trout Derby is now in the books. The Los Angeles Rod and Reel Club in conjunction with volunteers from the local fishing community have once again put on a successful event.
That’s the official description of our annual special-needs kids event, my own experience is that and so much more. I think its best to tell the story with pictures.....
Friday, April 4th, I once again had the opportunity to participate in this annual event at Hansen Dam lake. We had three schools participate with children ranging from middle school to high school including a graduating class.
The Wednesday prior to the event was cold and windy but that did not stop club members from deploying a net at the lake to help corral the fish. The idea was to enable these children to catch fish as soon as possible so they could experience the joy of fishing. Thursday two trucks from the Department of Fish and game paid visits to the lake one depositing 250 pounds of Trout and the other 1000 pounds of catfish in the netted area.
Friday came bright and early with volunteers lining up at the gate before the park opened. Once inside the volunteers began to set up rods, reels, terminal tackle, rod holders, bait and nets placed along the lake shore. As more volunteers arrived they signed in received an event T-shirt, and then proceeded to breakfast which was doughnuts, lox, bagels, cream cheese, juice, yogurt and other goodies.
The setup went smoothly and it wasn’t long until we were awaiting the first children to arrive. As the kids arrived they received a T-shirt and were paired off with a volunteer, who would spend the day making sure these kids had a wonderful time and caught fish. It wasn’t long before rods were bent children were screaming and laughing with the end result of a trout and the occasional catfish caught to the delight of all.
As the day went on, more kids arrived and more fish were caught, while it was never wide open I believe that every child caught at least one fish and many caught two or more. Before you knew it, it was time for lunch which consisted of hamburgers hot dogs chicken, and veggie burgers, Bluefin tuna and Wahoo, allow along with all the goodies. While everyone was eating we had a surprise visit from Smokey the Bear courtesy of flyingby to entertain kids of all ages. After lunch we had cake for all the kids in celebration of the graduating class.
I want to thank Hittson, Feel theSteel Gary, anchor3n1 and his daughter Noelle, Russ 88, Sid Page, Fishinone, Steve and Brad Johnson a.k.a. flyngby and son, and all the other volunteers that made the day special.
This was my 10th year participating in the Lou Burke Trout Derby for special-needs kids, and I have to say it is my favorite event. I may be too busy to fish, but I am never too busy for this event. To see the joy on the kids face as they catch their first fish and spend time with these very special children is truly something to behold.
Capt’n
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Originally Posted by CrouchingNinjaHiddenFish
