Hundreds get ‘Hooked on Fishing’

    PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — A beautiful spring day and an increasingly-popular annual event sponsored by the Presque Isle Elks attracted hundreds of youth and supervising adults to Mantle Lake Park in Presque Isle on May 31 for the “Hooked on Fishing, Not Drugs” youth fishing derby.
According to Elks event chair, Curtis Lewin, 275 children over the age of 3 and under 16 registered to participate in the fishing derby that began at 8 a.m. and ended at noon. During that time, 28 trout were successfully taken from the waters of Mantle Lake.
Jeremiah McLaughlin, a 4-year-old from Caribou, landed the first fish, which was 11 inches long. At the end of the derby, Ava McNeal-Saed, a 3-year-old from Mars Hill, had the longest fish at 13 inches.  Benjamin Ryan of Presque Isle, an 11-year-old, caught the most fish with four.
OMM Outfitters of Eagle Lake provided a new rod and reel from Cabela’s to children who arrived at Mantle Lake for the fishing derby without a fishing pole.
The Presque Isle Elks awarded a prize of an article for an outdoor activity to every child who participated in the fishing derby.
Other special prizes were also awarded. Jacob Paul, a Caribou 12-year-old, received a lifetime fishing license that had been donated by the Presque Isle Fish and Game Club. Aaron Tucci of Presque Isle, 11, and Brielle Taveras of Washburn, 4, each were the recipents of bicycles.
In addition to the new fishing rods and reels and other outdoor activity prizes given away, the Elks served over 800 hotdogs, 500 bags of chips, and 20 gallons of ice cream to those attending the event.
“Whenever you host an event where hundreds of children are engaged in a safe, outdoor activity with adult supervisors and all have smiles on their faces, it is a tremendous success,” said Presque Isle Elks Exalted Ruler Alan Harding. “When children are returning this year with the fishing rod they were given the previous year and upon leaving are saying ‘See you next year’, then the ‘Hooked on Fishing, Not Drugs’ fishing derby has established itself as an annual community tradition.”