Trout Derby raises nearly $17K for AHA

By Editor | October 9, 2026 |

Photo by Shari Harris
Darlene Griffith, third from right on the front row, was given a beautiful planter of flowers for her years of dedication to the derby. Next year the Missouri Trout Fisherman’s Association will chair the Rose Holland Trout Derby.

The 63rd Rose Holland Trout Derby was held this past weekend at Montauk State Park. Great weather contributed to a large turnout for the event, which is an American Heart Association (AHA) fundraiser. This year a total of $16,923.00 was raised for the AHA, another record breaking amount for the derby.

Events began on Friday evening, when the Current River Cruisers car club had their Cruise-in, raising $2,348.00 for the AHA. Thirty-four cars registered for the car show, with Seaman Don Mahan, of Houston, winning the Montauk Choice award with his 1956 Ford F100. The award for the longest distance driven was won by Tom Stricklin, of Leasburg, who brought his 1942 Ford Truck 72 miles for the show. Rain earlier in the day may have decreased the number of cars, but many people attended the event to see the classic cars and trucks.

On Saturday, kids enjoyed inflatable slides, face painting, pony rides, and waxed hands, and people of all ages enjoyed fishing, of course. The 2nd Annual Corn Hold Tournament was also held on Saturday, with over 20 teams competing.

For the weekend, 1,398 adult tags and 185 youth tags were sold. One hundred tagged fish were released Friday night for the derby, and 56 were caught over the two day event.

Attendance prize winners were drawn on Sunday at noon in front of the lodge. Several nice prizes were given, among them a kayak won by Ellie T. and a chimenea going to Ron Allsup.

Winners of the heaviest fish (for adults) and the heaviest stringer (for kids) were also announced and prizes were awarded. The Men’s Heaviest fish was a 5 lb. 11 oz. rainbow trout caught by Gavin Steinborn, of Hazelwood. The Women’s Heaviest fish was a 3 lb. 8 oz. rainbow trout caught by Vicky Hagen, of Norton, Kan. The Heaviest Brown trout weighed 2 lb. 2oz. and was caught by Christina Potts, of Houston.

Then fishermen and women who caught tagged fish waited anxiously for the announcement of which order the tags would be called for the prize giveaway. This year the flip of the coin decided that tags would begin at number 1 instead of number 100, leaving more than a few looking disappointed while others celebrated their luck.

Names added to the Wilma Wisdom Memorial Plaque in the lodge were announced, and among those was Diane Perry, of Licking, who worked at the Park Office for about 20 years and passed this year. Also added were Kevin Myers, Dan Brumeier, Floyd Burkett and Walter Kurtz.

Derby Chairman Darlene Griffith was honored on Sunday with flowers. Griffith has retired from the lodge, and this is her final year as chairman for the derby, though she plans to help with the annual event next year. Her familiar face will be missed by all visitors to the lodge.

Organizers thanked all who came out for the fun filled family weekend event. Next year’s event will be October 2-3, so mark your calendars now.