The first family fun fishing derby of the spring is set for Saturday, March 5th. It’s the annual Burke Lake Trout Derby, sponsored by the Quincy Valley Chamber of Commerce. I have always thought of this event as the unofficial start of spring trout fishing in the region. It is held in the Quincy Wildlife Area, where many lakes open on March first. The chamber and volunteers set up a big tent in the parking area of Burke Lake as derby headquarters. This is where registered derby anglers will bring their catches to weighed and measured to qualify for the many prizes the chamber will provide. Thanks to the generosity of the local sponsors, there will a bunch of items to be awarded to derby winners and to those with lucky raffle ticket numbers. Burke Lake always gets a good shot of rainbow from the Department of Fish and Wildlife, so fishing is usually great during the derby. To get in on the action, interested anglers can go to www.fishingmagician.com and click on the “Something is Fishy in Quincy” logo on the Home Page. You will find the derby rules, a registration form and a list of places to pick up registrations in person.
A father and son have their catch weighed and measured a previous Burke Lake Trout Derby.