April 25 marks the 13th annual Hooked On Fishing Opening Day Trout Derby at Lake Wilderness Park.

The event spans generations of opening day enthusiasts.  The Maple Valley Lion’s Club originally sponsored the derby decades ago until 1994.  In 2003 the city of Maple Valley acquired the park from King County. A partnership was forged by the Greater Maple Valley-Black Diamond Chamber of Commerce, Maple Valley Rotary, and the city to bring the opening day celebration back to Lake Wilderness.

Where else can you go so close to home to camp out all night, enter a derby, and eat a ham and egg breakfast with all you can eat pancakes at midnight under the stars? 

This is an event for all ages. There is fishing from the shoreline, from boats, from the dock and a fish pen for young anglers under the age of 12.

Fred Meyer will host kid’s games on the beach Friday evening; there are open fire pits for roasting marshmallows and new this year on Friday is golfzilla – a game of challenge hosted by Meridian Valley Country Club.

There is a tagged fish released in the lake and if caught before noon on Saturday is worth $300.  The tagged fish has been caught twice in the history of the derby; once in 2003 by Nathan Cairns and in 2007 by Nathan Geringer.  A Washington state fishing license can be purchased at Fred Meyer and camping and fishing gear at Fred Meyer and Johnson’s Home & Garden.

Camping setup begins at 3 p.m. Friday, April 24. The derby and breakfast begin at midnight and conclude at noon on Saturday, April 25.

To help alleviate the backup at the boat launch, plan on launching your boat early and leaving it on the beach until derby time.

Complete fishing rules and regulations, safety tips, the up-to-date parking plan and schedule of events are available at www.maplevalleychamber.org and www.blackdiamondchamber.org.