Lower Burrell Flyers to host 2nd annual Fishing Derby along Pucketa Creek

The Lower Burrell Flyers football organization will host the second annual Fishing Derby for kids 13 and younger April 23.

The Flyers organization is stocking Pucketa Creek, along Flyers Field, with 150 to 200 rainbow trout for the special fishing event, said Chris Lowe, one of the organizers. An angler for 40 years, Lowe is a coach of the Cadets football team.

Last year’s derby was a success, drawing close to 50 kids. Lowe expects 60 to 70 kids to participate this year.

“The derby is an opportunity to get the kids into outdoor sports, not just football,” he said.

Lower Burrell Mayor John Andrejcik, an avid angler and fly fishing instructor, is supportive of public events to encourage fishing, especially in the city.

“Taking a young boy or girl fishing and teaching them a bit about the outdoors has many benefits,” he said.

At the very least, outdoor activities like fishing keep the kids off the streets and out of trouble, Andrejcik said.

“Longtime anglers can show the youths how they can have some good clean fun without the peer pressure around them and other adolescent distractions,” he said.

Pucketa Creek hasn’t been stocked by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission for at least a couple of decades.

A private organization is selling the rainbow trout to the Flyers to stock the creek for the event.

If anglers would like to see the state stock Pucketa Creek again, they should make a request to the Fish and Boat Commission, said Mike Walsh, assistant regional supervisor for the commission’s Southwest Region. The commission would have to send a biologist to survey the waters, Walsh said, and check its condition to see if the stream could support the trout.

More details on the fishing derby are on the Flyers website at flyersfootball.org.