8th annual fishing derby draws 150 young anglers

More than 150 anglers participated in the 8th annual Fishing Derby on Saturday.

A crowd of about 500 people were at Pacana Park when the horn sounded at 2:30 p.m. to start the derby.

Each participant had 90 minutes to try to see who could catch the most fish in the catch- and-release tournament sponsored by the city of Maricopa.

Last week, the 1½-acre pond at the park was stocked with 250 pounds of catfish and 100 pounds of blue gill in preparation for the annual event.

Volunteers from the Maricopa Police Department Park Rangers program assisted in handing out water to all participants as well as helping to patrol the area.

The Maricopa Youth Council assisted in distributing fishing poles to each participant. They also helped to spread the word on the importance of water safety with information provided by the Maricopa Fire Department members who also were at Saturday’s event.

Another addition to this year’s event included the appearance of Joseph Salvatore, CEO of Architekton, the company who recently was awarded the contract for Construction Manager At-Risk Design services for the Multi-Generation/Aquatic Center project.

He was at the park displaying the conceptual Vekol Site Engineered Master Site Plan and getting feedback. He said he was “pleased at the opportunity to speak with various families in the community and take back their comments to the talented team of architects and designers who are working for them on the Vekol project.”

Event organizer Brenda Campbell said she was excited to see the happiness of all of the participants, even those who may not have caught a fish.