By 10 o’clock this morning, fish were everywhere – in buckets, nets, boats, and hands!
Sponsored by Orcas Adventures, it’s an annual event open to kids under 16 that begins at daybreak, pauses for a free pancake breakfast at 9 o’clock, and culminates in a measuring and tallying at 11 o’clock.
Bill Yarlott was a local before my time here. From what I could find online, he was a longtime Orcas Island resident and a passionate fishing advocate who helped support early efforts like the local Long Live the Kings’ Glenwood Springs Hatchery that maintains fish populations, and he was instrumental in stocking Cascade Lake with fish like kokanee salmon and rainbow trout. He died in 2015 at 87. The derby was named after him, as it reflects some of the ideas he cared about ~ getting kids outdoors, teaching them to fish, and sustaining local fisheries.
Today’s event was in partnership with the Jeffrey G. Pyne Free Fishing Weekend, which is funded by the Jeffrey G. Pyne Endowment Fund that provides free fishing poles, tackle, and bait for kids, with the goal of participation by kids who may not have their own gear.
And now for a look at this sparkling day on the water and some of the youngest fishing people I’ve seen!…
Until next year……
