Tradition is starting to settle in with the annual “Hooked on Fishing” Opening Day Trout Derby, organized by the Greater Maple Valley/Black Diamond Chamber of Commerce, as the familiar activities of trying to catch the tagged fish and eating a fisherman’s breakfast, among others, will be featured.
Last year, according to the Chamber Executive Director Sue VanRuff, there were about 250 tents set up at Lake Wilderness Park. This is the only night of the year camping is allowed in the park.
Campers can set up tents at 5 p.m. on Friday, April 23, and a premier campsite is set up for a family of four that will need only to bring sleeping bags and pillows. The family won the site, sponsored by Maple Valley Market, at the Maple Valley Rotary auction in November.
“It has everything they need,” VanRuff said. “It’s got air mattresses. It’s got a cooler full of soda. It’s got s’mores fixings. It’s got fishing gear.”
How many people show up, of course, “always depends on the weather on Saturday.”
“On Friday night people just come with the hope that it’s not going to rain,” VanRuff said. “If people bring a moisture barrier for their tent (it should be fine). We have heaters by the beach house. The food is under cover. Then you get up n the morning when the sun comes up, you see everybody out on the lake fishing. It’s great.”
Maple Valley Rotary will be cooking up hamburgers and hot dogs for dinner Friday night then will serve the traditional fisherman’s breakfast starting at midnight, which is when fishing can begin on the lake the state fish and wildlife department stocks with trout.
Folks can fish from the shore or on boats on the lake and all the usual state rules apply.
There will also be a fish pen off the dock that opens at 6 a.m. and is free for youngsters 12 years old and younger.
“You don’t need anything for the kids to come and fish off the dock at the fish pen,” VanRuff said. “Watching the kids catch fish out at the fish pen, they’re so excited. Our sponsors make that possible.”
There are a few new aspects of the derby this year, including Valley Medical Center joining Johnson’s Home and Garden, Claffey’s Painting, Mold Solutions Northwest, John L. Scott and Mortgage Masters Maple Valley as major sponsors.
VanRuff said she is also looking forward to Real Life Church’s sponsorship of a port-o-potty “because they say it’s going to be really creative.”
Another twist will be the addition of live worms in addition to power bait for participants.
Tickets for the tagged fish, Mr. Wigglesworth, will be on sale until midnight on April 23 with the prize for catching it being $300. It’s only been caught twice since 2003 when the chamber took over coordinating the derby.
A myriad of other prizes will be available to those who fish but VanRuff said the event is not about fishing, it’s about bringing the community together in the spirit of “the camaraderie of the sport.”
“It’s about the stories and the memories that families build at this event,” she said. “It’s a great place to be. You can’t miss it. Rain or shine. We have rain slickers. It’s also about our business community stepping up and making it happen. We couldn’t do it without them.”
