Copper Country fishing derby attracts families

Copper Country residents of all ages gathered in Lake Linden for the annual Rice Lake Fishing Derby which is organized by the Lake Linden-Hubbell Sportmen’s Association. The fish brought in are judged by weight and the fishermen are split into three groups: adults, juniors and children. Up for grabs was $1,500 in fishing prizes and the top prize for the largest fish was a canoe courtesy of D.A. Glass.

“We have a lot of prizes for that. All kinds of things that are donated by all the local businesses. They’ve been really generous to us in helping us out,” Lake Linden-Hubbell Sportsmen’s Association president David Saxton said.

He added that this event, which is in its 41st year, always draws a crowd but has come a long way since it first began.

“It’s hard to say. Way back when this first started, it was probably smaller but it was still family-oriented, which is what we wanted to do. We
weren’t looking for big ticket items for a prize where people coming in from elsewhere than this area,” Saxton said.

And on this special day, it seemed like the kids were coming up with the best catches. Maybe they can give me a few pointers on how they end up catching fish that look bigger than they are!