11th Annual Ryan Wagner Memorial Fishing Derby
Saturday, Feb. 13, Murphy Lake in Trego 8:30 am – 2:30 pm
Get the family bundled up against the weather, grab your ice fishing gear and come to Murphy Lake for the Ryan Wagner Memorial Fishing Derby!
Entrance fees are: $5 for 18 and over, $2.50 for 12 – 17, and children under 12 get in free. Yummy breakfast and lunch are available for incredibly reasonable prices with plenty of hot coffee, tea and chocolate to help you keep warm.
Lots of door prizes and some very cool raffles have been donated. Walleyes Unlimited has provided ice fishing poles that will be given to all kids 10 and under. The raffles include a gas ice auger, two dog sled rides, a Patty quilt (we who know what that means are very excited!), and a very large cooler from Cabela's that should keep ice for up to a week.
Mike Sartori, with the help of friends, started the Memorial Fishing Derby 11 years ago in the memory of Ryan Wagner - “a great kid who had so much promise.” It's a day dedicated to wintertime family fun. The derby is also a fun-fundraiser for the Ryan Wagner Memorial Scholarship which has, to date, raised $12,500 given as scholarships to LCHS students.
Ryan Wagner loved to fish. He developed a passion for and literally got “Hooked on Fishing” through the program at the Trego School. According to Sartori, his former teacher, Ryan kept in-depth journals about the lakes and fish habitats he fished, was sponsored by Snappy's in Junior Bass Tournaments, and the promise of a fishing trip on the weekend if he completed his school work would make him buckle down and study! His life abruptly ended during the winter of his high school senior year one morning on the way to school when his car hit a patch of ice and spun into some trees.
Hooked on Fishing Not on Drugs was started 20 years ago by the Future Fisherman Foundation. It is a nationwide program promoting outdoor activities centered around fishing to get kids caring about the environment and staying clean of drugs and alcohol.
About the Author: Alice B Elrod is a longtime promoter, supporter and contributor to our community. I love living in this glorious valley. There are so many people here who ardently strive to help out and it's a pleasure to pitch in when I can. Writing for visitNWmontana gives me a chance to know more about our community lets me invest some creative time in getting the word out about how wonderful it is to call this place home. I also have the privilege to be involved in the community by working with the Creative Arts Council, Recycle Eureka and through my chiropractic practice, Elrod Chiropractic.
