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Nora Hyer, 5, with her string of trout. -
Parker Mafera, age 10, with his catch. -
Sklyer Mafera, 7, gets tips from her mother, Laura. -
Shirley Mitchell, 3, with her tackle box. -
Gwyneth Moritz, age 14 with her fish. -
Violet Hardwick, 8, displays her tackle box and “smallest catch.” -
Skyler Mafera displays her string after paying close attention to her mother’s fishing advice. -
Francestown youth turned out for the annual Timothy Samuelson Memorial Fishing Tournament despite rain and cool temperatures. -
Taylor Griffiths, 5, keeps his grip on his fish. -
Thomas Hardwick, age 14, shows off his string of three fish.
Congratulations to everyone who participated in Francestown’s 2024 Tim Samuelson Memorial Kids Fishing Derby.
Bixby Pond was stocked with over 400 fish for the event, and 38 of the top anglers between the ages of 3 and 16 in the region came out in typical fishing derby weather (rainy and cold) to compete in several categories.
Five-year-old Taylor Griffiths won not only his age group, but also the prize for the largest catch, with his 13¼- inch rainbow trout. Seven-year-old Violet Hardwick was the first to snag her limit of fish. Gweneth Moritz won her age group (13 to 16), with a 13-inch trout.
The prize for the smallest fish of the day went to 11-year-old Stephany Luce and her 8-inch catch. Other winners of the day included Shirley Mitchell, largest catch (12¼ inches) in her age group (ages 1 to 4); Henry Wiley, smallest catch in the 1-to-4 age group; and Linus Lawrence, smallest catch in the 5-to-8 age group.
Fastest to their limit in their respective age groups included Parker Mafera (ages 9 to 12) and Thomas Hardwick (ages 13 to 16).
The Tim Samuelson Memorial Kids Derby was created in honor of Tim Samuelson, a Francestown youth who loved to fish, and was taken from our community much too young. The Samuelson family donates all the prizes, and Bob Rokes has been running the derby for almost two decades.
Bob Bitterli is chair of the Francestown Recreation Commission.