On Earth Day, the second shipment of brook trout, 475 of them, all called Bob, arrived from Aurora. Pictured is Cori Caveth of Trout Unlimited tossing a bucket o’Bobs into our pond. Millie and 24 of her larger friends arrived earlier than the Bobs. A total of 13 large brook trout were tagged and those who caught them earned big prizes.
Despite the wet and chilly weather, the Millbrook Lions report that 232 children registered for the event. Thanks to a generous donor, the pond was stocked with 500 Brook Trout this year, almost twice the usual number. There were also 11 large tagged brook trout released into the pond each of them named by youngsters helping out. Among them was the event’s main attraction: the elusive Millie. She has evaded the efforts of anglers for many years, having last been snagged in 2016 when eleven-year old Janelle Jacobs reeled her in. This year, Millie made an early appearance. By 8:30 am, she was caught by a young angler named Landon, pictured___ who seemed as surprised as the fish. Landon wasn’t the only successful angler that morning. Three more tagged fish were reeled in: Mr. Fishy, Michi and Bob. All of them were grateful for the quick catch and release philosophy of the tournament which meant they were returned to the water to make a quick dash for safety.
There are still tagged fish out there waiting for the perfect cast. Registered participants have until 5pm on Friday, May 4thto contact Trout Unlimited (Millbrook Chapter) with evidence of their catch to collect their prize. They can be reached via email at troutunlimitedmillbrook@gmail.com. The Millbrook Lions’ Club would like to thank the generous local businesses who provided more than 200 participation prizes which included fishing lures, fishing rods and 75 of the ever popular Fish Cream Cones redeemable at Millbrook Valley Chocolates. Trout Unlimited and the Millbrook Lions would also like to acknowledge the Peterborough Foundation, Lucky Strike Bait Works, Woodword’s Garage, the Millbrook BIA, Millbrook Home Hardware, Millbrook PC, Mitchels/Millbrook Valley Chocolates, Crayola, Cavan Monaghan Fire Department, and the Township of Cavan Monaghan for their contributions to this year’s Derby. Thank you to the anglers of all ages who always show up, even when it rains. See you next year!