Record catch highlights Peters Township Fishing Derby
Harry Funk/The Almanac
Emma Grant displays her record-setting carp, assisted by McMurray Rotary Club member Don Angel, whose daughter, Emilie, is at right.
Harry Funk/The Almanac
From left are Fishing Derby grand-prize winners Brooke Renk, Hailey Grant, Emma Grant and Noah Thomas.
Harry Funk/The Almanac
Kennedy Novak gets ready to fish in Peters Lake.
Harry Funk/The Almanac
Recreation supervisor Lisa Morris gets ready to greet Fishing Derby participants and their families.
Nico Spontak gives a polite smile at Peters Lake Park.
Young Tille Villani, with mom Shannon, has to wait a few years to be able to participate in the Fishing Derby.
Lincoln Swindell waits for a bite.
Emilie Angel attends the Fishing Derby to help her father, Don, and other members of the McMurray Rotary Club in conducting the Fishing Derby proceedings.
Ruby Swindell shows off her fishing rod.
Teige Villani sees how long his fish measures.
Hailey Grant gets ready to fish.
Seth Englesberg starts reeling.
Greyson McLain is proud of his catch.
Officer Mallory Jarzynka checks out the Fishing Derby activities at Peters Lake Park.
A small friend becomes comfortable on the hand of Michele Harmel, Peters Township parks and reacreation director, during the Fishing Derby.
Releasing fish back into the safety of Peters Lake are, from left, Shannon, Teagan and Tenley Villani.
Officer Connor Wohlfarth has a pleasant conversation during the event.
Emma Grant receives confirmation that she, indeed, caught the biggest fish of the day.
McMurray Rotary Club member Al DeLucia enjoys the event.
A fish is measured prior to being returned safely to Peters Lake.
The McMurray Rotary Club provided buckets in which youngsters kept their catches until bringing them in to be measured.
Preparing a fish to be measured are, from left, Teagan, Tenley and Teige Villani.
A corner-of-the-eye glance at what young Emma Grant was holding may have prompted an observer or two to wonder what was up with the fake fish.
But what she reeled in from the depths of Peters Lake was a genuine carp measured at 24.5 inches long before being released safely back into the water.
With that catch, Emma won the prize for the biggest fish during the 22nd annual Peters Township and McMurray Rotary Fishing Derby, held Aug. 21. And as at least one observer who has attended nearly every year will attest, hers set a new standard for largest ever.
A bright Saturday morning brought children in kindergarten through fifth grade to try their luck in the lake, with Peters Township Parks and Recreation Department staff members joining Rotarians in coordinating the event.
Grand prizes also were awarded to Brooke Renk for the most fish caught, 21; Noah Thomas for the smallest fish; and Hailey Grant, Emma’s sister, for the first catch of the day.
Harry Funk/The Almanac
Harry Funk/The Almanac
Julius Bennett listens to words of fishing advice.
All participants were presented with buckets in which to keep what they caught until it was time for their fish to be measured, and the youngsters also were treated to a picnic table full of donated gifts.
The fishing derby was started by Mike Silvestri, former McMurray Rotarian and retired township manager, as a way to promote activity at then-recently established Peters Lake Park and help spread awareness about its presence as a community asset.
In the two decades since, the park has become a popular spot for people who like to fish and boat, plus recreation enthusiasts who can walk or jog the approximately 1.5 miles of trails around the lake’s perimeter.
The park is accessed by traveling east on Center Church Road until it terminates at a parking lot off which a boat launch is located. A picnic shelter nearby represents one of the many Eagle Scout projects that have been completed at the park over the years.
Harry Funk/The Almanac
Harry Funk/The Almanac
Peters Township parks and recreation director Michele Harmel, left, joins McMurray Rotary Club members Al DeLucia, Marcy Santel (2021-22 club president), Scott Beinhauer, Roy Crimrine and Don Angel, plus Don’s daughter, Emilie.