St. Louis held its annual Joe Scholtz Memorial Free Fishing Derby Saturday, June 8, at Leppien Park. People of all ages registered and enjoyed a fun day of fishing.

Once registered, people scattered all around the city to fish. Prizes were given out at the end of the day for the biggest fish caught in different age groups.

St. Louis High School National Honor Society got involved this year and volunteered at the derby. NHS members helped with registration, handed out shirts, helped with food, and weighed and measured fish. Alexandra Pawlitz, a St. Louis NHS member, helped out with the derby this year. She shared, “This was my first time involved in the fishing derby, and I think it is a fantastic opportunity for the community to gather around and communicate with one another. I would highly recommend the fishing derby, and plus, it’s free! The fishing derby is now one of my top activities in St. Louis, and I look forward to helping out with it next year!”

The derby is a great community event that encourages people of all ages to get outside and have fun fishing. Another NHS member Macie Salladay stated, “The fishing derby was a lot of fun! We got to spend quality time with our peers and people in the community. It was so nice to be able to give back to my community and have fun while doing it. I would volunteer at the fishing derby again in a heartbeat.”

The event was very successful this year, and many people came out to be apart of the derby. Andrew Musselman, a consistent annual volunteer, said, “It turned out we had around 370 people show up for this event. It was the second biggest tournament we’ve had so far.” The derby has been going on for around 20 years, and it’s always a huge success with a big turnout. Musselman added, “It was nice to see the excitement in the kids’ faces when they caught fish.”