Most of the fishers at the opening day of the 2024 Trout Derby April 27 were after prize-winning fish.

But while Tom Brobst wanted to do that, along with catch the limit of five rainbows, he also wanted to catch, or rather retrieve, a rod and reel that he had lost the night before while trying to boat a fish in high winds. He felt confident he could at least land his gear since he had a good idea where to find it. Brobst was using a fin-powered pontoon boat and was the only observed fly fisher that morning.

The state Department of Fish & Wildlife’s Trout Derby takes place annually in lakes statewide. DFW planted trout in 13 of Kitsap County’s lakes.

The rainy weather opening day didn’t deter avid fishermen. Silas McAfee and his daughter, Teagan, were at Wildcat Lake. Although fishless at 10:30 a.m., he had faith in his favorite color dough bait, which he kept a secret.

Another fisherman, Tyler Hugg, was preparing his kayak. Originally from Minnesota, Hugg’s more straightforward approach involved spinners and powerboat (but he did have a fish finder to aid the effort), as they were less prone to the stiff winds.

At about the same time Amy Dinubilo came down to the shore to greet her husband and two sons who had a stringer of pretty trout. And, Christopher Hagins, accompanied by his son Christopher Hagins Jr., and their friend Jackson Dumas took up station on the shoreline to put their lines in the water. Luck had been with them on the previous afternoon when their trusty pink powerboat had delivered them 13 fish. The boys attributed part of their success to Hagins’ expert line-rigging skills.

The derby runs through Oct. 31. Winning fish have yellow tags on them. Participants must have a fishing license. See wdfw.wa.gov to find out which lakes have prize fish in them. There are 18 prizes valued from $1,000 to almost $3,000 and dozens of prizes valued from $25 to $850.

Damon Williams/Kitsap News Group Tyler Hugg prepares his kayak for a day of fishing.

Tom Brobst shows his fishin’ mission ammunition.