Wheatland Conservation & Wildlife Association hosts annual fishing derby

By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The Wheatland Conservation & Wildlife Association hosted their annual fishing derby, June 22, encouraging local kids to come out and learn to fish. 

Mike Adamschek, fishing chairman of the The Wheatland Conservation & Wildlife Association, explained the event is aimed at kids 15 and under, as well as for seniors 65 and older, who do not require fishing licenses to participate. 

“What we do here is an annual fishing derby, which we encourage to get the kids out and participate and get into fishing,” said Adamschek. “We are a nonprofit but we help out – we give them fishing rods, we collect prizes from around town, there are some local sponsors who help us out generously … overall we just want to encourage people to get out in the outdoors and into the fishing game.”

Though an exact number of years was unknown, Adamschek said the association has been running annual fishing derbies for at least 20 years, with the organization having formed in 1996. 

Response from the public, he added, tends to be extremely positive on an annual basis, with dozens of families coming out to participate. 

“We have a lot of returnees here who said they were in this derby about three years ago, and they are coming out now every year. They love it, it gets families out … there are a lot of people out here and it is a fun time for the family,” said Adamschek. “The kids are loving it, it gets the families out. If you look around, they are all having fun and not sitting at home on the couch and playing video games. That is what we encourage, to get everybody out.”

Adamscheck explained for many of the kids who are participating, it is their first time getting to experience fishing, many of whom express interest in continuing the hobby following the derby. 

The Town of Strathmore stocks Kinsmen Lake with brown and rainbow trout annually, which participants learn to try and catch. The exercise is catch and release, which aims to teach kids that fishing is not all about killing fish, and there is joy in putting the catch back for somebody else. 

Bruce Martland, first vice president of the The Wheatland Conservation & Wildlife Association, said the organization also hosts a shooting club for kids to teach them gun safety, among other outdoor activities, all available to participate in for free. 

“It is to get them out and get the disbelief away from that all hunters are bad people. We are not. We do more conservation to help, (including) releasing pheasants to help their populations,” he said. “This is just a small part of it to get the kids out and to experience something different for them.”

More information about the Wheatland Conservation & Wildlife Association is available through their website and social media platforms.