Participants in the 2-8 age group fish in the pond at Falls Park on Sunday, Sept. 24, duirng the 2023 Pendleton Lions Club Fishing Derby.
Scott Slade | The Times-Post
Peyton Mullins pulls up on his fishing rod so his dad Glen Mullins can net a fish he reeled in during Pendleton Lions Club Fishing Derby Sunday, Sept. 24, in Falls Park.
Scott Slade | The Times-Post
Camille Allen won First Place - Largest Fish Caught in the 9-13 age group at the Pendleton Lions Club Fishing Derby.
Scott Slade | The Times-Post
Cole Allen helps daughter Camille Allen get control of a fish she caught during the Pendleton Lions Club Fishing Derby on Sunday, Sept. 24, in Falls Park.
Scott Slade | The Times-Post
Camille Allen (second from right), 9, looks on as Karianna Belcher with Scout BSA Troop 232 measures her catch. Camille’s family includes grandfather Ken Allen (left, seated) mother Betsy Allen (taking photo) and father Cole Allen.
Scott Slade | The Times-Post
Jobie Owens won Second Place - Biggest Fish Caught in the 9-13 age group at the Pendleton Lions Club Fishing Derby.
Scott Slade | The Times-Post
Elijah Edgell won First Place - Most Fish Caught in the 9-13 age group at the Pendleton Lions Club Fishing Derby.
Scott Slade | The Times-Post
Lucas Owens won Second Place - Most Fish Caught, in the 9-13 age group at the Pendleton Lions Club Fishing Derby.
Scott Slade | The Times-Post
A scene from the Pendleton Lions Club Fishing Derby on Sunday, Sept. 24, in Falls Park.
Scott Slade | The Times-Post
Kayden Stout, 11, fishes during the Pendleton Lions Club Fishing Derby along with the rest of the ages 9- to 13-year-old competitors.
Scott Slade | The Times-Post
A scene from the Pendleton Lions Club Fishing Derby on Sunday, Sept. 24, in Falls Park.
Scott Slade | The Times-Post
Tiyon Chatman Jr. won a fishing pole in the drawing for the 9-13 age group.
Scott Slade | The Times-Post
Christopher Roby won the drawing for a fishing pole in the ages 2-8 age group.
Scott Slade | The Times-Post
Courtney Sorrells takes a photo of son Charlie, 9, with his catch. The family, including dad Matt Sorells and Charlie's twin brother Oliver, all came out for the fishing derby.
Scott Slade | The Times-Post
William Smith of Anderson holds up a fish he caught during the derby so it can be measured and recorded by members of Boy Scout Troop 232, including Austin Belcher (right) and Wyatt Jeffers (partly visible, far left).
Scott Slade | The Times-Post
Lion Kevin Fitch gives the rules and regulations prior to the start of the ages 9-13 group during the Fishing Derby on Sunday, Sept. 24, in Falls Park.
Scott Slade | The Times-Post
People wait in line to register for the age9-13 group of the Pendleton Lions Club Fishing Derby on Sunday, Sept. 24, in Falls Park.
Scott Slade | The Times-Post
Caden Davis, 12, works to untangle his line so he can get it back in the water during the 2023 Pendleton Lions Club Fishing Derby Sunday, Sept. 24, in Falls Park.
Scott Slade | The Times-Post
Beau Barrett comes forward to get his trophy for winning First Place - Biggest Fish Caught, in the Pendleton Lions Club Fishing Derby on Sunday, Sept. 24, in Falls Park.
Scott Slade | The Times-Post
Beau Barrett won First Place - Biggest Fish Caught in the 2-8 age group at the Pendleton Lions Club Fishing Derby.
Scott Slade | The Times-Post
Gus Holloway won Second Place - Biggest Fish Caught in the 2-8 age group at the Pendleton Lions Club Fishing Derby.
Scott Slade | The Times-Post
Lennox Allen won First Place - Most Fish Caught in the 2-8 age group at the Pendleton Lions Club Fishing Derby.
Scott Slade | The Times-Post
Collins Becker, 4, holds her Second Place - Biggest Fish Caught trophy as sister Emerson, 7, looks on.
Scott Slade | The Times-Post
Troy Hawkins and his daughters Clara, 6, (left) and Emma, 8, fish during the Pendleton Lions Club Fishing Derby on Sunday, Sept. 24, in Falls Park.
Scott Slade | The Times-Post
Oscar Calderon holds the line of daughter Mila’s fishing pole, while she reaches through the fence trying to scoop it up with her net. The fish got away moments later.
Scott Slade | The Times-Post
PENDLETON — “I’m so mad,”10-year-old Mila Calderon said aloud to anyone who would listen, several minutes after a fish she had on her line got away as she tried to scoop it up with her net.
Around the same time, Peyton Mullins was getting high-fives from his friends for landing a fish that would get measured and recorded as part of his catch for the day.
Such were the ups and downs — along with broken rods, tangled lines and good family fortune — that played out in Falls Park on Sunday, Sept. 24, during the annual Pendleton Lions Club Fishing Derby.
Story continues below photos.
There were line-ups to register for the two age groups — 2-8 years and 9-13 years — and Lions organizer Kevin Hitch said it might have been the biggest event ever, but certainly the biggest in many years. Fifty-one people signed up for the younger group and 77 for the older one.
“If we have a turnout like this next year, I’m going to have a megaphone,” Hitch later told the crowd as he was announcing winners.
The Lions stocked the lighthouse pond with 400 pounds of catfish on Friday for the event.
Each age group had an hour to fish, with the younger group starting at 1:30 p.m. and the older group beginning at 3 p.m.
Any fish the children caught were measured, recorded and released by volunteers from local Scouts BSA Troop 232. There were first- and second-place trophies for Biggest Fish Caught and Most Fish Caught, in each age group.
Many of the participants on Sunday said it was the first time they participated in the derby, alerted to it by social media. One family said they saw a post that morning and decided to go.
Troy Hawkins of Pendleton said his family — his wife and three children — have lived in Pendleton for 10 years, and they came to the derby this year for the first time.
“We’re kind of novice fisher-people,” he said, as he and daughters Emma, 8, and Clara, 6, fished through the railing at the north side of the pond. “But it seems like a great event.
“There’s nothing like the feel of actually catching something,” he said, following up with a reference to the stocking of the pond. “It’s nice to know the odds are kind of stacked in your favor.”
Not all first-time participants were novices, however.
Dustin Stout said his son Kayden, 11, who was new to the event, “is an avid fisherman.
“He fishes every day he doesn’t have sports,” he said.
When asked what he likes about fishing, Kayden Stout responded — without taking his eyes off the water, where he had a line in — “just catching big ones.”
Craig Herron of Pendleton said he brought his son Graham, 9, to the derby for the first time, even though they fish at places such as Lake Tippecanoe.
At one point during his hour of competition, Caden Davis, 12, of Fishers, sat patiently at the edge of the pond working on his line, which was tied up in knots.
He hadn’t caught anything yet, but that didn’t seem to bother him.
When asked what he liked about the outing, he responded, “Myself, getting to see what other people are using (to catch fish), and just seeing a lot of kids liking to fish.”
On Sunday, at least one family stood out on the winners list — siblings Camille Allen and Lennox Allen won first- place trophies, she for the Biggest Fish Caught (20 inches) in the older age group, and he for Most Fish Caught (five) in the younger group.
Other winners were (ages 2-8) Beau Barrett (First Place – Biggest Fish Caught, 25 inches); Gus Holloway (Second Place – Biggest Fish Caught, 23 inches); and Collins Becker (Second Place – Most Fish Caught, four); and (ages 9-13) Jobie Owens (Second Place – Biggest Fish Caught, 19¼ inches); Elijah Edgell (First Place – Most Fish Caught, two at 18 inches each) and Lucas Owens (Second Place – Most Fish Caught, two at 18 inches each), with the tie decided by a drawing.
In the event’s two planned prize drawings, Christopher Roby and Tiyon Chatman Jr. won fishing poles.
In a later email, Lion organizer Hitch reiterated his satisfaction with the turnout — and the enthusiasm of some participants.
“It has been years since this many had participated in the event,” he said. “Kids and their parents were out getting their favorite fishing spots long before the sign-ups started.”