Fish for a Wish

The 8th annual Fish For A Wish Trout Tournament was held at Big Cove Resort on Saturday August 4, 2012.
Fish For A Wish Trout Fishing Tournament Benefiting the Make-A-Wish Foundation

    A genie’s lamp isn’t essentially necessary to grant wishes. As is evident through the Fish for a Wish Derby, all one needs is a fishing rod.
   This year’s eighth annual Fish for a Wish Derby was a huge success, earning a sizable amount for the Make-a-Wish Foundation. The money raised at
this year’s tournament will be used to grant the wishes of hopefully up to five children.
   Eighty-two participants competed this year, all striving to catch the most fish. This year’s derby was split up into two categories: Trout and Bass, Kids and Adults.
   The derby took place at Big Cove Resort on Lake Almanor. The lake was spotted with boats competing to land the biggest fish.
The winners in the Kids category are:
1st Place: Paige Procker 3 lbs 10 oz Trout
2nd Place: Sam Weseloh 1 lb 9 oz Trout
3rd Place: Kyle Crawford 1 lb 8 oz Trout
   The first place winner in the trout category for Adults was the team of Doug Neal and Rod Overstreet with a total catch of 9 lbs 14 oz. The team of Alan Shepherd, Matt Goodrich, Mike Kibby and Page Procker placed second while Lalan Stahl took third.
   Ken Sawyer and Tom Oxford took first in the bass category with a pull of 8 lbs 4 oz. Justin Botini and George Snook placed second and Gayle Brown took third place.
   More than 300 people were in attendance this year, supporting local anglers and the Make-a-Wish Foundation that made the event possible.
   After the derby a spirited auction was held. Baskets of various liquors, fishing supplies and other gifts were all donated to the derby.
   This year there was a special guest in attendance. Four-year-old Kyle Crawford, from San Mateo, was one of the children the Make-a-Wish Foundation helped out. This was the first time in tournament history that one of the recipients of the Make-a-Wish Foundation was in
attendance.
   Crawford has aplastic anemia and is in need of a bone marrow transplant. Crawford’s condition leaves him with a lower blood cell count of all
three types of blood cells: red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets.
   When Make-a-Wish contacted him, Kyle only had one wish: to catch a fish. The foundation shipped him and his family out to Lake Almanor for the special event.
   On Friday, the day before the derby, Crawford and his family were brought to Mount Lassen Trout Farms. With the private lake all to themselves Crawford caught 10 fish that day while spending time with his family. The
following day Crawford and his family fished off a boat while enjoying the beauty of Lake Almanor.
   Those interested in donating to the Make-a-Wish Foundation or receiving more information on its charity work may visit www.wish.org.
   Wishes provide hope for sick children and offer something positive to focus on while they battle an illness. Wishes also serve as a rallying point for families and communities as they deal with the stress of a life-threatening medical condition for one of their own.
The date for 2013 is set for the 1st Saturday August 3rd. For tournament information, questions, or entry forms please contact Big Cove Resort at 530-596-3349.
Also please see the Fish For A Wish web site at www.fishforawish.org Checks can be made payable to Make-A-Wish. Entry forms, donations or auction item/prizes can be sent to:
Big Cove Resort
442 Peninsula Drive
Lake Almanor, CA.
96137

Paige Procker took 1st place for kids.

Sam Weseloh took 2nd place for kids.

Special VIP wish child guest Kyle Crawford with his family and AJ Casella. Kyle took 3rd place for kids.

Adult winners together. Also shown is Doug Neal who presented a check to AJ and of course AJ Casella.

Paul, Connie, Gary, & AJ Casella with Patrica from Make A Wish.

Kyle and his family with some of his catch mounted behind them on the wall.