A Derby We Likely Won’t Soon Forget

As the calendar turns to March we are finally able to close the books on the 11th Annual Poles n Holes Fishing Derby.  And what a month of February it was!  

After finally learning from the DNR that we could have a limited attendance derby, we worked to put together a protocol compliant derby on February 6th.  But—Mother Nature had other plans for us.  The live derby was postponed a week due to cold weather and then postponed again another week for continuing cold weather!  UGH!

Finally, on February 20th, 250 brave fishing enthusiasts battled windy and somewhat fickle fishing conditions to compete in our live derby on Little Detroit Lake.  Tyler Haus came out on top on a day where fish were just hard to come by!  Way to grind it out, Tyler!  Check out the full results here.

But we weren’t done yet.  Our first-ever Virtual Derby continued throughout the month of February and let’s face it, most of the month wasn’t exactly balmy!  So a late arriving crowd of over 100 virtual fishers gathered throughout the state competed for yet another valuable prize package.  

While the prizes were awarded in a random fashion, Ernie Freye emerged as the leader with a 38” Northern Pike.  Mike Baker led the panfish division with a 40” stinger of 3 Crappies.  Well done guys!  You can check out the full results to that derby here!

Then there was the raffle—a great success due to tremendous support from our community and our club members who had to scramble to sell tickets despite bars and places where people gather being closed most of the ticket sales period. See Raffle results here.

We’ve always known that we are hearty up in this part of the world.  But this was a herculean effort by the planning committee, Rotarians, supporters, fishers, and perhaps more than anyone, our sponsors.  

I think the vision of our derby happening with vintage snowmobiles buzzing around us and epic and colorful kites flying above us will stay etched in my mind for a long time.  Lots of people safely gathered around to enjoy the outdoors and our beautiful community.  It was a sign that despite the obstacles—we did it, we made it and everything is going to be OK.

Thanks for whatever part you played in making that happen.  See you next year.  If you want to keep up with our happenings, make sure you sign up for our newsletter.