More than 100 young fishers and their families came together at the much-loved Derby Jetty for this year’s annual Kids Fish’n’ Derby Day, celebrating fishing and showcasing the importance of accessible land-based fishing locations.
Hosted by the Mary Island Fishing Club, the popular annual event once again provided an enjoyable day’s fishing for the community, featuring fishing, crabbing and fishing skill-building activities and ending with a celebratory community barbecue.
Recfishwest was proud to support the event through our Community Grants Program, with our team joining local families and club volunteers on the day.
Making the most of Derby’s quick run-out tide, enthusiastic young fishos wet a line from the jetty and were able to land nine fish and an impressive 20-sized mud crab.
Away from the fishing action, kids also took part in casting activities and learnt new skills from Katlyn Yeeda– the Derby Jetty Queen- including cast-net throwing and casting practice using barramundi target boards.
Mary Island Fishing Club President Aaron Butters said the strong turnout reflected the support the event receives from the wider Derby community.
“It was really good turn-out,” Aaron said. “This year the club’s been really pushing for not just the committee running our events – it’s really been a whole community, which definitely helped get a lot more community members down there.”
The ‘heart of Derby’
For a regional community like Derby, the jetty provides valuable land-based access to the water and a place where locals can easily enjoy fishing and crabbing without needing a boat.
But its importance extends well beyond wetting a line, with the jetty remaining one of the town’s most valued places for families, friends and visitors to spend time together.
“The jetty is like the heart of Derby. It’s what Derby’s known for,” Aaron said.
“It’s our only land-based access in town to the water, because we’re surrounded by the marsh, so that’s where everyone fishes, everyone hangs out. It’s awesome. Everyone’s down there either watching the sunset, going for a walk, socialising and fishing of course.”
Katlyn echoed Aaron’s comments, “It’s good for the town; it brings in the tourists, brings in the locals, and just brings family together,” Katlyn said.
BIG THANKS to Mary Island Fishing Club for having us, for making us feel so welcome and for some of the the wicked photos in this piece!
