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February - March 2018
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The Catfish Derby and
how it Changed my Life
Hi my name is Samantha Ryan every year John
Vargo and his group have a few catfish derbies.
I have been going to them for a few years now
and they have changed my life. In the first year
that I went to one of them I was in 4th grade and
I won first place for catching a 14 inch catfish.
That day was one of the best days of my life.
It showed my that even a girl at the age of
8 could beat everyone on the Hudson River.
That a girl can beat boys almost double her
age at a sport that men usually conquer. But
here everyone is able to compete no one is
rejected. It doesn’t matter the skill level of
the amount of experience you have. For the
contests they have bait for you and most of
the time they will have poles set up for you
to use. In the middle of the contest they
bring out food like sliders and hot dogs for
you to eat. All the people that run the derby are all loving
and wonderful people. They love to see young people interested in
the competition and come back year after year. There is usually
an entry fee of 5 or 7 dollars to compete. All the money they make
go to the cleaning and help the Hudson River. And it is just fun in
general. You meet many new people and learn many skills that
you use in everyday life. I hope to see you at
the
next catfish derby on the
Hudson River.
by
Samantha Ryan
Sam and
Fresh water
Drum
HRFA Team
at Billy Joe’s