The fish were biting

By Mary-Justine Lanyon

The weather was fine – the sun was shining, there was a gentle breeze and the temperature was moderate.

To make the day even better, the fish were biting!

Alexander, William and Elizabeth – the Santacruz team – fished from their dock and took first place in the youth trout category with 16.77 pounds.

The occasion was the 35^th annual Arrowhead Lake Association fishing derby, held on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend. According to derby coordinator Sharon Pitman, 64 adults and youth had signed up prior to the derby with eight more signing up that day.

Anglers had arrived early to get to their favorite fishing spots on Lake Arrowhead. They began trickling in to have their catch weighed just after 10 a.m., with the majority arriving at 10:45. The deadline to be in line was 11:00 a.m.

Manning the scale was Bill Saksa, who had served on the Fish committee. At his side as scribe was Kathi Rothner, who recorded the total weight of each catch and the weight of the biggest of the five fish allowed.

In the adult trout category, third place for total weight went to Robert Augat, whose fish weighed 13.75 pounds; second to Aaron and Jack Sahegian, 14.58 pounds; and first to Kevin and Erik Ordahl with a whopping 25.42 pounds. The Ordahl team also had the biggest fish – a 7.30-pound beauty.

In the adult bass category, third place for total weight went to Bill Schedd and Don Trojan, 11.52 pounds; second to Brian and Mike Stiver, 12.04 pounds; and first to Steve Schimpf and Ryne Sutherland, 13.86 pounds. The Schedd/Trojan team brought in the heaviest bass at 4.49 pounds.

In the youth trout category, third place went to the Burns team of John Choi and Josiah Lathrop, 13.77 pounds; second place to the Burns team of Zaydin and Asher Bruce, 15.37 pounds; and first to the Santacruz team of Elizabeth, William and Alexander, 16.77 pounds. The trio also had the heaviest trout at 4.03 pounds.

Anglers had the option of either taking their trout home to cook and eat or donating them to Wildhaven for the animals. Bass are catch and release so those anglers were bumped up to the front of the line to have their fish weighed as soon as possible. They then put them gently back into Lake Arrowhead.

Bill Saksa weighs Robert Augat’s catch. At 13.75 pounds, it took third place in the adult trout category.

ALA General Manager Mike Pate said Lake Arrowhead had been stocked with 6,000 pounds of trout two weeks prior to the derby. “We got some extra trophy fish,” he said. “They were real monsters!”

Following the awarding of the trophies, the anglers and their guests enjoyed a barbecue lunch courtesy of UCLA Lake Arrowhead Lodge.