The weather broke just in time for the May 9 fishing derby, rain ending during the night and the sun easing out of partly cloudy skies by registration at 8 a.m.
More than 100 kids showed up at that early hour, dragging their sleepy-eyed parents to the Duck Pond, where they sloshed along the somewhat muddy shore and cast their hopeful fishing lines into the water. Chris and Greg, son of police officer Kevin Carpenter, could not remember if they had attended the yearly event previously, although their father said he had brought them at least once.
Others along the shore, such as the Clausman family, Jason, Jack, Lisa and Nancy, said they had high hopes for a catch.
“We’re hoping to catch something,” Nancy said.
Jason, at 2 years old, would later share the distinction with Derek Jensen and Sear Lawlor as the youngest fisherman at the event.
What old Secaucus was like
This was the 12th fishing derby in 13 years, instituted in the early 1990s at the insistence of then-Councilman Tony Just to help kids remember what Secaucus used to be like when pig farms, the Hackensack River and flower and vegetable gardens dominated the area instead of outlets, malls and warehouses. Just, who had grown up on a pig farm within walking distance of the current Duck Pond, often swam in this area as a kid.
In seeking to preserve what was left of old Secaucus, the mayor and council came to a 99-year lease agreement with Hartz Mountain that would preserve the area as a park. Hartz had purchased a huge section of south Secaucus in the 1960s, building most of the roads and the buildings in the area around the pond. The pond has since become a place for outdoor classroom activities, fishing enthusiasts and, of course, a home for scores of chickens and ducks.
From early spring to late fall, people come here to sit, picnic, take wedding photographs or just ponder the reeds and the fountain located at the pond’s center. In 1993, the 2.5-acre Duck Pond took its place in the history books when Richard Koeppen, a rail bridge operator on the Hackensack River, caught the second largest piranha ever caught in freshwater in the United States. Someone had, at some previous date released the fish into the pond, where it had prospered.
Prizes were had by many
While no kids caught a piranha in their attempts to collect some of the hundreds of fish (the U.S. Wildlife Service and Secaucus Fire Department’s Engine Company No. 1 stocked the pond), many of the kids caught their share of prize-winners, including Victoria Liland, who was awarded a plaque and a fishing pole for snagging the largest catfish in this year’s derby – the catfish measured 24 inches.
Eleven-year old Jose Lapiana caught the biggest bass and also received a plaque and a pole for his 10 inch bass.
While fishing purists might question whether or not the 34-inch eel five-year-old Kelly Pein caught could be considered a fish, the snake-like creature was certainly the largest living thing caught that day.
Alyssa Voli not only scored a hit by catching the most fish, but one of those fish, a 10-inch big mouth bass, was among the handful of tagged fish that brought her an additional award of a U.S. savings bond.
Nine-year-old Justin Meyer received honors for catching the day’s smallest fish with his 5-inch sunny. Adam Rodriques won a fishing pole for catching an 18-inch catfish, while Pat Collin won a tackle box for catching a catfish 20 1/2 inches long. Tackle boxes were also awarded to Joseph Wraga for a 13 1/2 inch catfish and Hunter Hess for a 14 inch catfish.
Turnout a surprise
Deputy Mayor John Reilly, who was on-hand for the event, was surprised by the large turnout.
“You have to remember when we started this event, we didn’t have the range of recreational activities we have today,” he said. “Many kids are torn between baseball and other sports. This event has to compete with them all.”
While the day remained rain-free, the temperature was unusually low for May and many kids were wearing jackets at they fished.
Chris and Greg Carpenter cast out, struggling to get their bait into the water while keeping their feet from sinking into the wet soil near the shore.
For both boys, this was a particularly significant moment. They had their father back this spring. Kevin Carpenter was among those Secaucus residents that had been called up for active duty in anticipation of military action over sees. And while his tour of duty did not bring him into a war zone, his family had worried for his safety.