2023 Fishing Derby
“Free Fishing Derby in St, Louis Offers Family Fun, Prizes,” Gratiot County Herald, June, 15, 2023.
For all of the 21st century, and even back a few years in last, the St. Louis Free Fishing Derby has brought out anglers of all sizes for a chance to wet a line and win some prizes. It always coincides with Michigan’s “free fishing weekend,” the second Saturday of June, so there’s no cost to cast a line. Last Saturday, under sunshine and blue skies, more than 315 people registered for what’s now called the Joe Scholtz Memorial Fishing Derby, in honor of the guy who got it all started and insisted on keeping it free.
From toddlers with plastic poles to older folks from lawn chairs, the red-shirted crowd dropped lines off the dock at Leppien Park and along the shore. North of downtown, they fished above and below bridges, pulling in lots of blue gills, or sunfish, and rock bass. There was more smallmouth than largemouth bass — by seven to just one, according to officials keeping score. People caught a couple of carps and a quintet of pikes, with the longest measuring 23 inches. Throw in a pair of chubs, four suckers, and more, and the tally added up to around 40 people catching 75 fish.
Families and winners
The derby has always been a family affair, of course. Jacob Darter may have been fishing for something from his youth alongside his wife Marissa and daughter Elowen, just three years old. In town from their home in Fort Wayne, Indiana, the Darters were visiting grandparents and showing Elowen how to fish for the first time.
The Harveys, who own Yardsale Thriftshop in St. Louis, had six kids in tow. Kim, the mother, found a spot on the west end of the park, to cast some lines with daughters Adalynn, three years old, and Savanna, 10 years old. Her husband and son had some success in last year’s derby.
Keith Whipple, from Middleton, was a first-time fisherman at the derby. His 10-year-old grandson, Easton Russell, wanted to go fishing and he got wind of the event. Shortly before noon, Adam Musselman, who has been pulling the derby together for more than a decade now, sat beneath a gazebo filled with prizes for children. With a lucky raffle ticket, kids could pedal off on a new bicycle. Though every kid got a prize of some sort, along with a free lunch. Trophies also awaited winners who landed big fish in various age categories.
Dustin Kittle Jr. caught a two-pound, 19-inch sucker to win the 0 to 6-year-old category. Braiden Nentwig reeled in a 25-inch carp to best everyone else in the seven-to-12 age group. Angelina Elliot snagged a bass longer than 15 inches to lead all teenagers. Among the adults, Lucas Rohde caught the most fish — eight in all, including a rock bass, smallmouth bass, and sucker among them. Carol Pohl landed the biggest whopper — a three pound, 21-inch catfish. It’s all reminiscent of the good times spent in Musselman’s own youth in St. Louis, as he recalled things like the Big Wheel prize from the annual Firemen’s Festival.
Each year as he rounds up sponsors and collects donated prizes, he said he does it because there simply are not enough community events. And there’s certainly nothing like this derby with its fishing focus. Environmental angle Gary Smith, born and raised in St. Louis, was one of the volunteers measuring and counting fish. In fact, he’s been helping out with that since Scholtz first pitched the idea of a free derby.
Though, even from the beginning, they had some bigger fish to fry with the event. They wanted to draw attention to the needs of the Pine River. He thinks it’s a story that needs to be “continuously told.” “We see this problem everywhere in America, and we know where it’s coming from,” said Smith, pointing out the algae-filled Pine River. “And the math proves it. There are more pigs and cows than people in Gratiot County. They produce more manure than they have property to put it on.”
The manure ends up on the property, oversaturates the soil, and ends up in the water, Smith explained. “We can’t get any politicians on either side of the aisle that have any ambition, interest, or willpower to do a damn thing about it,” he said. Canoes and speedboat races were part of the summer fun 25 years ago, Smith said. With the algae and everything. [see next story with photos]