Budd Lake Fishing Derby Sees Record Turnout

HARRISON – On the heels of a Friday storm that resulted in substantial power outages across the county, Saturday broke to be a beautiful day for the 2021 Budd Lake Fishing Derby. The event fielded some 88 participants, which emcee Jeff Dupius noted was the highest number of participants the Budd Lake Fishing Derby has seen to date.

This year’s contest featured a guaranteed pot of $1,344 for the largest legal muskie, but no legal minimum 42-inch or larger muskie was caught. So, sadly, there was no name to write on the “Pay to the Order of” line on the monster award check. That means the Biggest Muskie pot rolls over, making next year’s prize even larger – just like the fish stories that follow every derby.

It was a busy weigh-in time for anglers and event volunteers alike. The weigh-in went quickly, though, thanks to a portable fishing scale (no pun intended) which had been contributed by Greg Wright

After the 2 p.m. closing horn blew, the first order of business was awarding door prizes. Numbers were drawn, matched with the registrant’s name, and prizes were selected by the winner’s choice. Those winners were Peyton Gallo (lures), Brett Kline (fishing maps), Zach Lighthall (lures box), Wyatt Clark (air horn), Bruce Stoddard III (ruler), Karen VanAlstine (fishing line clippers), Jayden Smythe (emergency whistle), and Ronny Davis (fry mix).

And, yes, there was jesting mention of a fish fry at Ronny’s house that evening. However, joking aside, the derby was a catch-and-release event, so no little Budd Lake Derby fishes ended up in the frypan that day.

Next came the 50/50 drawing where John Airheart scored $225 with ticket No. 164091.

Kids were acknowledged next, with some very happy winners. Biggest Fish (2.45 pounds) netted Parker Burkhard $40, and the 2^nd Biggest Fish (1.52 pounds) earned $10 for Liam Studebaker. The $20 prize for the Biggest String (7.67 pounds) also went to Parker Burkhard, and the $10 prize for 2^nd Biggest String (7.65 pounds) went to Easton Bradley.

Then it was time for the grownups, who raked in some serious cash for their catches. The $2 50 prize for Biggest Bass (3.71 pounds 18.75 inches) went to Corey Wilkerson. The $250 for Biggest String (20.38 pounds) went to Mason Basner. Corey Wilkerson struck the bucks again with his 2nd Biggest String (13.56 pounds) worth $150. And the 3^rd Biggest String (13.35 pounds) brought $75 to Aarron Maxwell.

The three top winners also received a package of lures provided by Rich and Barb Hansen of Frankenstein Lures in Harrison, new contributors to the Budd Lake Fishing Derby.

Chamber volunteers included Kris Stevens, Chamber President and Fishing Committee Derby chair; Tracey Connelly, City of Harrison/Chamber secretary; Jeff Dupius (launch/emcee), Susan Freeman (organizer/concessions), Mike Freeman (weigh-ins), Deven Conway (weigh-ins), Kristi Teall (registration), and Bryan Fleigel (50/50).

It was a long and busy day, but all the volunteer efforts, prize contributors’ generosity, and participants’ best efforts resulted in another successful Budd Lake Fishing Derby.

The only real question left is: “How much will that muskie grow by Budd Lake Fishing Derby 2022?”