Willy Schildt, a brown-haired youngster fishing with his father and older brother Carver, stood by the edge of East Plymouth Valley Park Pond Saturday, his head turned away from the waters.
"I caught two trout, he caught one, and I actually caught a bunch of sunnies," he said. "We fish a lot."
Meanwhile, about thirty feet away, his bobber was being pulled under the surface of the water.
"Will, you're getting bites, reel in," his father said.
Willy did, but it was too late.
"Nope, he's off."
Such goes fishing, and such it went on a beautiful morning Saturday, during the annual Plymouth Township Fishing Derby. Families from around the area turned out for the event, in search of approximately 250 trout that had been released into the waters earlier in the week.
"We had lots of first time anglers come out today, thanks to the weather," said Joanna Rizzuto, program manager for Plymouth Township Parks and Recreation. "We had some great help from [sponsors] Stony Creek Anglers and the Norristown Elks, and it's just been a wonderful day."
Hundreds of children, mainly led by their tackle box-carrying fathers, cast their lures into the water during the four hour derby. Reportedly, the catch of the day went to a young girl.
"She caught a trout that was fifteen and a half inches," said Charles Wood, President of the Stony Creek Anglers, who provided the fish from their nursery. "It's going great, people are catching some trout. Best year we've had in a while."
A few moments later, youngster Jason Mongan ran to the Stony Creek tent with a trout of his own. Spread flat on the table, the fish approached the ten-inch mark. Jason and father Eddie posed for the camera, beaming.
About twenty feet behind them stood another boy, reeling in furiously. His shoulders drooped as he pulled an empty hook from the water.
Such goes fishing.
