The derby was conducted on Whitney Point Lake, yesterday, February 14, 2015. Our attendance was down significantly from previous years due to a few factors. Anytime we have to postpone our event, this invariably cuts into attendance but to have it fall on Valentine’s Day certainly will have an impact. Also, to wake to an announcement of a “winter weather advisory” in our area will certainly cause people to think again about traveling.
We did have about 1,500 people attending with about 750 registered. We did catch a lot of very nice fish. The average size of the Crappies submitted to our judges were up by over an inch. Some fish of other species were caught as well. Door prizes were also given to people who did not even fish. Also, derby staff ventured across the ice to find reasons to give something to youngsters in attendance – no strings attached.
It was well above zero (8-ish) at the start and going up to about 24 F in the afternoon. There was a steady breeze about 15 mph with some snow. The cold was enough to deter the Ross Park Zoo from venturing onto the ice with their ‘critters du jour’ but our other exhibitors all had a steady stream of visitors. They included the Broome County Underwater Dive Team, 4H Education Center at Finch Hollow, Gander Mountain, Triangle Emergency Medical Technician Team, Amigo Search & Rescue K9 group. In addition the Whitney Point First Baptist Church hosted a Pancake Buffet and the Whitney Point Rotary provided a polished skating rink with free rental skates. The skating rink included a shelter heated by a Bowman Lumber & Stoves device. There were free activities for everyone.
See attached PDF documents identifying specific category winners and including some historical and geographical data. There was an error in one of the winning categories released yesterday. The largest Rock Bass was 10 ¼ inches vs. 23 ¾ inches. There were a couple of other minor adjustments made but the documentation on our website has now been updated.
The Whitney Point Sportsmen’s Association and Broome County Parks & Recreation are pleased to present this opportunity to our fishermen, families and youngsters to spend an inexpensive day outdoors in the dead of winter. We make every effort to make this a “cheap date”.
Please visit our website WWW.CRAPPIEDERBY.COM as it contains lots of info regarding our event. There is a picture gallery and we will be updating it with pictures of this years’ event.
Our thanks to the community and our sponsors for their support. A list of our major sponsors can be viewed on our website.
For questions, contact Dave Hughes, Derby Coordinator, 2750 Hickory Street, Whitney Point, NY 13862 – (607) 692-3263 — NYSCRAPPIEDERBY@AOL.COM