On a serene Wednesday morning at Duarte’s Pond in West Tisbury, a group of nine volunteers emptied buckets of slippery trout into the pond. In all, 300 trout had traveled by truck from off-Island to play an essential role in the 51st annual Kid’s Trout Tournament, set to begin at the break of daylight Saturday, May 3 at 5:30 a.m.

“Imagine a little kid at the end of that,” organizer Cooper Gilkes said with a laugh, while pointing to the trout. “It’s unbelievable. To see the parents and the kids out doing their thing together makes all the difference in the world.”

Mr. Gilkes and his wife Lela started the tournament in 1973 at the Mill Pond. When it outgrew that body of water it moved to Wiggy’s Pond and eventually to its current home at Duarte’s Pond. The event is now run by the Rod and Gun Club, but still supervised by Mr. Gilkes.

The joy of watching kids catch their first fish keeps the love of the tournament alive, Mr. Gilkes said.

“All you have to do is come up here and watch some little kid catch his first fish,” he said.

President of the Rod and Gun club Cliff Meehan said he is excited to pass along a love for fishing.

“There’s nothing like trout,” he said. “They’re the most beautiful fish.”

Volunteer Ray Long said he has participated in the tournament with his kids and grandkids for around 45 years.

“So many generations now have participated in this, and some kids that first started when they were really young are now older adults like us and they are contributing money to keep it going for other generations, so it’s fun to see,” he said pondside on Wednesday. “Where else can you have a hot dog for breakfast and a donut at first light?”