FARMINGTON — The best overall fisherman award in the Flagg Family July 4 fishing derby went to a young girl from Dixfield.

Megan Couture, 4, caught a rainbow trout weighing the most. It was within the first 10 minutes of the early morning holiday derby, Steve Shible, recreation director, said. The award doesn’t necessarily go to the one who catches the first fish but the one who catches the heaviest.

The July 4 derby held at Rollo Pond on the campus of the University of Maine at Farmington has been a hit with children ages 3 to 10 for more than 25 years.

Couture received a trophy to keep along with her fish, but also had her name engraved on a wooden trophy kept at the Recreation Department in the Community Center, Shible said. 

The pond was stocked last Thursday with 163 trout that were about 15 inches long or more, he said. Many of those may still be there although fishing opened to the public following the derby.

As part of the summer recreation program, Shible held a fishing instruction program last Friday for five youngsters. Only a couple fish were caught.

Following the instruction, the department held a derby for developmentally disabled adults.  The fish were slow to bite then, too, he said.

On Monday, about 60 children participated in the derby but only a few more were caught, he said.  Even with people fishing there this week, Shible expects there may still be dozens of fish left in the pond.

The annual stocking is expected to be a put-in and take-out event, he said. In the shallow pond fish are in danger as the water gets warmer. He encourages people to go down and try their luck.

The derby was renamed to honor the Paul Flagg family for their years of volunteering, Shible said. After Paul and Patty Flagg’s children were too old to participate in the derby, the family would continue to help run it.

“They still feel a connection and come to help,” Shible said. The Flaggs are now grown and have moved to other states across the country but return as they can. Paul is there every year, Shible added.

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