10th Annual Friends of Caleb Smith Preserve "Youth Fishing Awards"

By Carole Paquette

A pink Barbie fishing pole reeled in the most fish caught  at the 10th Annual Friends of Caleb Smith Preserve Junior Angler “Catch and Release” Fishing Tournament where over thirty children, ages 5 to 12, caught a total of 118 fish at Caleb Smith State Park Preserve in Smithtown on Saturday, June 9. Children age 5 to 8 fished from 9:30 - 11 a.m., and those age 9 to 12 from 1 - 3 p.m. 

During the morning session, Hannah Lentz, 5, of Lake Grove received the first place award for catching the most fish. With her pink pole, Hannah steadily caught morning winners21 fish including two 10-3/4-inch bass. Nicholas Churaman, 6, of East Northport received the second place award for the largest pan fish caught. His fish measured 9-1/8 inches. Gianni Faruzzo, 6, of Huntington Station received the third place award for catching the largest “other” fish, a 13-inch bass. Gianni also caught a 9-inch trout.

In the afternoon session, Jesse Goodman, 14, of Levittown caught a total of nine afternoon Wimmersfish to win first prize for the most fish caught. The Smith siblings of Hauppauge, James, 12, and Carly, 10, each caught a 9- inch pan fish, which created a tie for second place for catching the largest pan fish. However, James won the award as his total catch of six fish beat Carly’s five. Colin Dunn, 10, of Brightwaters caught an 11-1/4-inch bass to win the award for the largest “other” fish caught.

As he watched Carly Smith patiently sitting on a camp stool at the edge of her specified site on the Willow Pond peninsula, a tournament judge, Sheldon Billips of Smithtown, observed: “The girls tend to be more patient than the boys most of who throw out the line and if they don’t get a bite right away they pull it in. You have to just relax and let the fish do the work.”

Meanwhile, Nature was in its glory at the Preserve as a majestic family of swans glided across the waters, taking in the human scene before settling in near a group of austere, black cormorants to do their own fishing. Pop-eyed frogs hung out in the mud along the shoreline fishing sites waiting for bait to swing their way.