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ENLARGE
While crowds of bicycle enthusiasts descended upon Nevada City to watch the Father's Day Racing Classic, the Nevada Union Class of 1955 Fishing Enthusiasts met for their 23rd annual Fishing Derby Social in Portola.
Thirty-six fisherpersons and spouses were in attendance.
Loren Pingree, from Brookings, Ore., using a flasher and a night crawler, caught a plump 19-inch rainbow on Sunday to overcome Chick Yust's Saturday's catch of 17 3⁄8.
Also crowding Pingree for the championship honors were Don Wilson of Grass Valley with a double threat of 18 inches and 171⁄2.
Pingree has now won or tied for the championship three times since 1987. The Derby record is held by Claire Parmeter of Nevada City with a catch of 221⁄2 inches.
The weekend activities kicked off in Blairsden, where the classmates met at Gumba's Pizza house. There they started warming up by visiting and viewing photo albums of past class derbies, Super Bowl and Christmas parties as well as football and swim outings. Class historian Arlen Cartwright of Oroville had all the activities up to date.
Pingree was presented with a nice individual trophy, a perpetual trophy and a $50 bill by last year's champ, John Rua. Five minutes after the presentation, Pingree discovered his $50 bill had turned into a $5 bill. His prankster friend, Rua proved that the hand is faster than the eye and with a lot of laughter from the participants, promptly returned Pingree's prize money.
The annual Saturday night dinner was held in the banquet room of Calpine's Sierra Valley Lodge. First year attendees Jim and Jan Enright from Folsom were welcomed. John and Marlene Rua from Grass Valley, Donna Dunbar from Nevada City and Lou and Bev LeDuc from Folsom were awarded 20-year attendance plaques. Classmate Bud Wood was honored with a roast by his friends and presented with many framed photos of himself and his friends. The photos chronicled his life from high school to the present.
Arlen Cartwright narrated and provided a slide show of photos of classmates and activities spanning from 1955 to 2007. Participants who have passed away were highlighted.
The derby ended Sunday at noon and finished with a brunch prepared by Ida Cartwright and Donna Dunbar. The facilities were provided by Ed and Margie Dillard at the Sierra Valley R.V. Park. Final awards were made, which included the Bill Bruning Memorial Trophy for catching the most fish, which was won by John Rua and Wayne Brooks (17).
Dean Deniz of Nevada City won the Booby Prize, a large fish pillow, for catching the smallest fish (9 inches). The annual Chief Stevens Award, (an inflatable boat) was presented to Elaine Teghtmeyer of Nevada City. Chief Stevens was one of the class's favorite teachers at Nevada Union and the award was for Perseverance.
The Portola Rotary Club hosted a Fish Derby of their own on Saturday which participants. Lake Davis was stocked on a Friday morning and while a few caught limits, most caught only a few. Most of the fish were in the smaller 9-12-inch range. Honker Cove was full of trucks and trailers, but there was plenty of room on the lake.
A derby within a derby
The class of '55 was given the opportunity to have professional fishing guide, Ed Dillard Beckwourth host three participants from the group who have been down on their luck over the years.
Dillard's complimentary services produced 24 fish for the trio of which many released to the lake. Dave Lollich of Modesto, his daughter Charlene Rocha and Chick Yust participated. The trio had been skunked for a combined 21 years. Their patience was rewarded by each catching their limits.
Yust won $50, a plaque and bragging rights with her first place catch of 173⁄8 inches. Rocha won second and $25. All catches were made on Dick Nite Lures.
Thirty-six fisherpersons and spouses were in attendance.
Loren Pingree, from Brookings, Ore., using a flasher and a night crawler, caught a plump 19-inch rainbow on Sunday to overcome Chick Yust's Saturday's catch of 17 3⁄8.
Also crowding Pingree for the championship honors were Don Wilson of Grass Valley with a double threat of 18 inches and 171⁄2.
Pingree has now won or tied for the championship three times since 1987. The Derby record is held by Claire Parmeter of Nevada City with a catch of 221⁄2 inches.
The weekend activities kicked off in Blairsden, where the classmates met at Gumba's Pizza house. There they started warming up by visiting and viewing photo albums of past class derbies, Super Bowl and Christmas parties as well as football and swim outings. Class historian Arlen Cartwright of Oroville had all the activities up to date.
Pingree was presented with a nice individual trophy, a perpetual trophy and a $50 bill by last year's champ, John Rua. Five minutes after the presentation, Pingree discovered his $50 bill had turned into a $5 bill. His prankster friend, Rua proved that the hand is faster than the eye and with a lot of laughter from the participants, promptly returned Pingree's prize money.
The annual Saturday night dinner was held in the banquet room of Calpine's Sierra Valley Lodge. First year attendees Jim and Jan Enright from Folsom were welcomed. John and Marlene Rua from Grass Valley, Donna Dunbar from Nevada City and Lou and Bev LeDuc from Folsom were awarded 20-year attendance plaques. Classmate Bud Wood was honored with a roast by his friends and presented with many framed photos of himself and his friends. The photos chronicled his life from high school to the present.
Arlen Cartwright narrated and provided a slide show of photos of classmates and activities spanning from 1955 to 2007. Participants who have passed away were highlighted.
The derby ended Sunday at noon and finished with a brunch prepared by Ida Cartwright and Donna Dunbar. The facilities were provided by Ed and Margie Dillard at the Sierra Valley R.V. Park. Final awards were made, which included the Bill Bruning Memorial Trophy for catching the most fish, which was won by John Rua and Wayne Brooks (17).
Dean Deniz of Nevada City won the Booby Prize, a large fish pillow, for catching the smallest fish (9 inches). The annual Chief Stevens Award, (an inflatable boat) was presented to Elaine Teghtmeyer of Nevada City. Chief Stevens was one of the class's favorite teachers at Nevada Union and the award was for Perseverance.
The Portola Rotary Club hosted a Fish Derby of their own on Saturday which participants. Lake Davis was stocked on a Friday morning and while a few caught limits, most caught only a few. Most of the fish were in the smaller 9-12-inch range. Honker Cove was full of trucks and trailers, but there was plenty of room on the lake.
A derby within a derby
The class of '55 was given the opportunity to have professional fishing guide, Ed Dillard Beckwourth host three participants from the group who have been down on their luck over the years.
Dillard's complimentary services produced 24 fish for the trio of which many released to the lake. Dave Lollich of Modesto, his daughter Charlene Rocha and Chick Yust participated. The trio had been skunked for a combined 21 years. Their patience was rewarded by each catching their limits.
Yust won $50, a plaque and bragging rights with her first place catch of 173⁄8 inches. Rocha won second and $25. All catches were made on Dick Nite Lures.
