Doylestown’s Fishing Derby Brings Out Disabled Veterans, Seniors And Handicapped Anglers

DOYLESTOWN, PA—On a cool, overcast morning, Doylestown held its second trout fishing derby of the season, bringing out disabled veterans, seniors and anglers with physical disabilities.

At the event’s 8 a.m. kickoff, about 30 anglers were ready to drop their lines in the water in the pond at Chapman Park. Organizers were expecting a total of about 75 more people to attend throughout the day, many of them from veterans’ homes in the area and a facility for mentally and physically challenged people in Philadelphia.

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The groups regularly attend the fishing derby, said derby co-chair Gerry Higgins. “They’re looking forward to it and all charged up,” he added.

A small army of volunteers in fluorescent yellow shirts, many of them experienced fishermen, were on hand to give the anglers any help they needed, from baiting hooks to landing fish. Higgins said many of the day’s anglers aren’t very experienced and need a fair amount of one-on-one help.

Higgins noted that the event allows people who may not be able to hike to a creek or walk to a pond a chance to fish in a safe and relatively controlled environment.

Many of the day’s attendees also needed help in the form of fishing rods and other gear that the derby makes available to everyone who comes to fish. A rack of fishing rods was on one side of the pond ready for takers.

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Just a few minutes after the derby opened, a man in a motorized wheelchair caught the first fish of the day. The two-pound fish was one of 500 or so trout that were put into the lake on Thursday.

The derby was one of two that the Friends of the Borough Dam hold every year after. The first derby is held on the opening day of trout season and open to anglers 16 and under and typically draws 400 to 500 people. The second derby, for older and disabled anglers, draws about 100 people.

Higgins pointed out that both derbies are funded entirely by donations from local businesses and individuals. Besides stocking the pond with fish, the derbies provide fishing gear and food and beverages to participants on derby day and during the stocking days. Higgins noted that all of those activities are funded by donations.

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