At the break of dawn on Saturday, five-year-old Aurora Lapierre reeled in a 14-inch trout at Duarte’s Pond using her rainbow striped pole and worms she had named Wormy and Squirmy.
Her father was with her pondside, taking part in the 51st annual Kid’s Trout Tournament.
“I like fishing because it’s my favorite thing,” Aurora said, twirling a green net in her hands. Then she scampered off to play tag with her new friends Hunter and Harper Gilkes.
The Gilkes sisters are the granddaughters of Cooper Gilkes, who owns Coop’s Bait & Tackle and started the tournament with his wife Lela in 1973.
“[The tournament] is awesome,” Mr. Gilkes said, looking out at the families dotting the perimeter of Duarte’s. “All we have to do is just watch one little kid pull in a fish, and the whole thing is worth it.”
Mr. Gilkes said the first event was held at the Mill Pond along Edgartown-West Tisbury Road. As it became more popular, he tried out Sengekontacket Pond and eventually found a home at Duarte’s Pond. The event is now run by the Rod and Gun Club, which stocked the pond earlier this week.
Mr. Gilkes’s passion for fishing has been passed down to the third generation of his family. Hunter, 10, said she feels excited and joyful when she reels in a fish.
“It’s just a way to have fun and it’s kind of a hobby to keep you happy and full-minded,” Hunter said.
Nearby, Matthew and Elizabeth Kuester were casting their lines while sipping hot chocolate. A few minutes before, five-year-old Elizabeth caught her very first fish — a 16-inch pickerel.
“I felt like it was very strong because it was so long that it was also heavy,” Elizabeth said.
Her heart was set on catching a second fish, which she hoped would be a piranha.
At the end of the tournament, kids gathered around a table and enjoyed donuts and hot dogs for breakfast, a tradition at the trout tournament. They also peered eagerly at the trophies and two bicycles, the first place prizes.
Eight-year-old Nora Arieta won first place for the only fish she caught that day: a 16.78-inch trout.
“It was flopping around really hard and it was really heavy,” Nora said while holding her trophy.
Mica Zoref, 9, didn’t win a prize but said he had a great time. Just 10 minutes before the final buzzer rang, he got a nibble and scrambled to reel in the fish, but his line got tangled in a nearby shrub. After a valiant effort, he freed the line but all that surfaced on his hook was a lily pad and some algae.
He had some advice for kids who may get discouraged when the fish aren’t biting.
“Be patient — unlike me,” Mica said with a laughed. “Take your time when you hook it, let it actually eat [the worm] before you reel it in.”
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