{"id":453125,"date":"2026-09-04T08:14:16","date_gmt":"2026-09-04T08:14:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/453125\/"},"modified":"2026-09-04T08:14:16","modified_gmt":"2026-09-04T08:14:16","slug":"huge-turnout-for-rotarys-34th-annual-seal-beach-fishing-derby","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/453125\/","title":{"rendered":"Huge turnout for Rotary\u2019s 34th annual Seal Beach Fishing Derby"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>lthough it is called the \u201cSeal Beach Fishing Derby\u201d kids and their parents from throughout the area took part in this year\u2019s record-breaking event. With fish on the lines and smiles everywhere, it was hard to know who enjoyed it more, the kids or their parents?
\nPhoto by Tim De Shazer <\/p>\n

By Brooklynn De Shazer<\/p>\n

On Aug. 22, more than 450 kids showed up, bright and early, at Seal Beach Pier for the 34th annual Rotary Kids Fishing Derby. The pier was filled with participants and volunteers for a morning of fishing, community and food.<\/p>\n

The Rotary of Los Alamitos Seal Beach and Cypress hosted this free event that welcomed children ages 15 and under. No prior fishing experience was required, and children could participate even if they did not own a fishing pole.<\/p>\n

\"\"Some of the little ones hooked the big ones at the 34th Annual fishing event.
Photo by Tim De Shazer.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you look down the Seal Beach Pier and see it shoulder-to-shoulder with kids and families fishing together, it\u2019s hard not to smile. We had 474 registered kids this year \u2014 many fishing for the very first time \u2014 and probably twice that many parents, grandparents, siblings and friends sharing the morning with them,\u201d Art Remnet, member of Rotary, said.<\/p>\n

Throughout the morning, kids eagerly lined the pier waiting for something to bite. When a fish was caught, they brought the fish over to be weighed. Those who participated caught a wide variety of sea life, including fish, sharks and stingrays. All sea life that was caught was released back into the ocean after being weighed.
This year held the record for the most participants. Over 474 young fishermen and women registered for the derby. More than 100 fish were caught and weighed by volunteers.<\/p>\n

\"\"Anglers of all ages had a fun day on the Seal Beach pier.
Photo by Tim De Shazer<\/p>\n

\u201cMy favorite part of the event is seeing all of the kids\u2019 smiles as they go to fish at the derby! I think it is so nice that we have an event like this where the community can come together and share our love for fishing, \u201dInteract President Adrian Lopez said.<\/p>\n

Many kids showed up to the pier with years and years of fishing experience while others got to try something new.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I love most is that nobody has to know how to fish or even own a fishing pole to be part of this. We had parents who had never fished before bringing their kids because they wanted them to try something new. Maybe they caught a fish. Maybe they didn\u2019t. Either way, they spent a Saturday morning together and went home with a story,\u201d said Remnet.<\/p>\n

The event also wouldn\u2019t have been possible without the Seal Beach Lions Club, providing breakfast for all participants. Participants were given meal tickets to enjoy a pancake and sausage breakfast. The turnout was so large that the Seal Beach Lions Club had to make several trips to the grocery store throughout the morning to pick up additional supplies for the breakfast.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe kids\u2019 faces are so cute. They light up when they catch a fish or try to catch one. We just work with a great group of people, so that\u2019s really nice. My husband is in charge today. He is most days, whether I want him to be or not. We have a great time,\u201d said a Lions Club member.<\/p>\n

Fishing equipment was also available for children who needed it. Through a partnership with California Fish and Wildlife, they were able to provide kids with fishing rods, reels and other materials. Volunteers helped cut bait throughout the morning to provide supplies for participants.<\/p>\n

The event also included competitions for different age groups and trophies were awarded for the biggest fish.
The young anglers competed in three age groups, with first, second and third-place winners recognized in each category:<\/p>\n

Age 6 and Under
1st: Hasanah Ryan
2nd: Dexter Fournet
3rd: David Fonsera<\/p>\n

Ages 7\u201311
1st: Everly Bersuch
2nd: Vincent Zavala
3rd: Abraham Ryan<\/p>\n

Ages 12\u201315
1st: Caden Carl
2nd: Violet Juarez
3rd: Gavin Russell<\/p>\n

First-place winners each received a new bicycle, while second and third-place winners received new fishing rods and tackle.<\/p>\n

With 474 children registered, the 34th Annual Rotary Kids Fishing Derby continued a long-standing Seal Beach tradition while bringing families, volunteers and community organizations together.<\/p>\n

For many of the young fishers, the morning was about more than just winning. It was a chance to try something new, spend time with family and friends and experience the excitement of seeing what might be at the end of the fishing line.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s why our Rotary Club has continued this tradition for 34 years. It\u2019s not really about who catches the biggest fish. It\u2019s about giving kids an experience and families a memory. Seeing that pier filled with so many people having such a good time was pretty special,\u201d said Remnet.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"lthough it is called the \u201cSeal Beach Fishing Derby\u201d kids and their parents from throughout the area took…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":453126,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[131,133,132],"class_list":["post-453125","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-long-beach","tag-long-beach","tag-long-beach-headlines","tag-long-beach-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/453125","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=453125"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/453125\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/453126"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=453125"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=453125"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=453125"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}