'Small Fry' Contestants Reel in Prizes

Colleen Weichert, 8, spun the reel of a pink fishing rod around and around, watching pink and purple lights flash on its rim.

"It glows!" she exclaimed. Weichert, a participant in the Chatham Borough Fire Department's 45th annual Small Fry Trout Fishing Derby place this weekend, won the light-up rod for catching the largest fish in Kelley's Pond behind the Milton Avenue Elementary School in the girls category.

"It feels awesome," she said, adding that she also won a black fishing rod for catching the first fish of the day. "This is the first time I won the fishing derby."   

The derby is run by the fire department for children aged 13 and under. Contestants vie for fishing equipment prizes which include reels, rods and tackle boxes. The goal is to catch the trout swimming around in the pond, which was stocked Thursday.

The grand prize winner was Kevin Goeckel, 13,  a derby "veteran" who said he's been fishing at the event for around eight years. He not only took home a trophy, but also a tackle box, fishing rod and reel.

Another angler, Paul Coyne, 11, was the first winner of the derby; he caught the first fish of the day yesterday in the boys category and took home a fishing rod. 

"I feel like I started off the fishing derby," he said.

The event, which took place Saturday and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., attracted a large borough turnout—around 200 people overall, said Fire Department Chief Peter Glogolich.

Although more people frequented the pond yesterday, the rainy  weather today attracted more fish to the bait.

"Yesterday's turnout was really strong, but the catch rate was pretty low. Today, because the weather was a little off, the fish are biting," Glogolich said.

Volunteer firefighters Peter Heimrich and Don Kidd organized the event in a little over as month, both adding that they have the planning phase down to the science; they've done this together for over 12 years. 

"It builds character, it's outdoors, it's really a great thing," Kidd said, adding that "we see a lot of the same faces, the same families every year. We watch the kids grow up."