It wasn’t exactly beginner’s luck, but the Martinez brothers came away with more than two big fish June 6 when they went on their first fishing outing at Heron Lake.
The boys, Ruben and Jesus Martinez Jr., each finished in first place in separate age groups in the lake’s first Kids’ Fishing Derby by catching two fish that each measured at least 14.5 inches (see results above). The winner in each division received a new fishing pole and a new tackle box.
Ruben explained how he snagged his fish.
“It went down, and my dad helped me catch it,” the 5-year-old said.
The brothers were among 42 youths who participated in the derby, according to Heron Lake employee Donna Concannon.
Concannon said the park held the event to coincide with a statewide free fishing day initiative. The idea was to get children more interested in fishing.
Jesus Martinez Sr. said his sons had learned to fish on the stretch of the Rio Chama that passes by their property in nearby Plaza Blanca, but this was their first fishing trip to the lake.
“For the fishing derby and for fun,” Martinez Sr. said in explaining why his family attended the event.
The young fishermen enjoyed a windy, but sunny, day on the “no-wake” lake. There was plenty of water in the lake, which was 10 feet higher than the same time last year, Concannon said.
Further down the shore from the Martinezes, another group of boys, all from Chama, had a mixed bag of luck.
Among that group were Simeon Moya, 10, and William Hurd, 12, who both placed second in their respective age groups by catching large rainbow trout.
Moya had caught three fish by 10:30 a.m.
“The rainbow was really big so it was a lot harder (to catch),” Moya said.
Just a few feet from where Moya was having so much luck, his brother, Zach Moya, 12, was empty-handed after almost two hours of fishing. The elder Moya preached a quality all good fishermen must have.
“If you haven’t got a bite yet, you just have to have patience,” he said.
The Moyas’ father, Ronald Moya, said he brought the boys to the lake to catch some fish and enjoy the dry weather.
“(Also) so they can take a little pride in their work when they get older,” he said.