Fishermen's delight for derby: Sunny day and lots of fish at Mammoth Park

It was a family affair Sunday for Jason and Heather Newhouse of Youngstown, who brought their two children and niece to Mammoth Park Lake in Mt. Pleasant Township for the Westmoreland County-sponsored fishing derby.

Jason Newhouse, 10-year-old twins Sophia and Caleb, along with his niece, Adyson Vought, 11, of Latrobe, staked out a spot near along the lake.

“I’m getting bites, but not landing them. It’s nothing that I want,” said Newhouse.

The Newhouse clan were among the 323 people — 191 adults and 132 children age 15 and younger — who registered to win prizes at the five-hour fishing derby sponsored by the county Bureau of Parks and Recreation and the Westmoreland County Sportsmen’s League. In the friendly competition, prizes and a trophy were awarded for catch of the day, longest trout, longest carp and longest fish, other than a trout or carp.

The unseasonably warm weather likely was a factor in the good turnout, said Chris Panichella, parks coordinator for the county parks and recreation bureau. It was a whole lot better than last year, when temperatures were below freezing, Panichella said.

“This is the best weather we’ve had in a while,” he said.

Landing a fish to qualify for those trophies and prizes was made easier on Sunday because the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission stocked a variety of trout at the lake on Friday, Panichella said.

This is the first of three fishing derbies sponsored by the parks and recreation bureau and the sportsmen’s league. The Northmoreland Park Fishing Derby in Allegheny Township is set for May 19 and the Twin Lakes Park Fishing Derby east of Greensburg is on June 16. The Twin Lakes derby falls on Father’s Day, which typically draws a big crowd, Panichella said.

Newhouse’s niece Adyson, who has been fishing for two years, had better luck, catching a fish that measured about 12⅞ inches. Sophia Newhouse, a fishing veteran, landed one of a similar size.

“I’ve been fishing since I could hold a pole,” Sophia Newhouse said.

“They love fishing. That’s what they want to do,” said Heather Vought, of her children’s passion for the sport. Heather admits to being an observer, rather than a participant, and has her husband clean the fish when it comes time to eat their catch.

One of the larger catches was by Andrew Grubbs, 18, of North Hutingdon, who caught his 13-inch-long rainbow trout on orange PowerBait. It was one of two fish that Grubbs had caught as of about noon.

Grubbs, who will be graduating from Norwin High School next month, said he likes to fish at Indian Park Lake in North Huntingdon and at Twin Lakes Park.

Among those fishing at the spillway of the lake was Jeremy Newill of Youngstown, who described the shallow pool holding the water rushing over the dam as “not a bad spot.”

The county sportsmen’s league, a coalition of a nine sportsmen’s clubs in the county, has been sponsoring the event since the 1970s, said Deborah Overly of Unity, president of the group. It is a way to get the youngsters outside and enjoying the outdoors.

“We’re doing it for the kids,” Overly said.