The Mike Ryan’s 20th Kid’s Fishing Contest at Six Mile Waterworks in Albany set an all-time record of 93 kids. And the fish were biting! The fishing contest, which is for the benefit of the Northeast Make-A-Wish through various auctions and raffles that day, raised $1,213 plus an additional $100 donation from Rep. Paul Tonko, D-Amsterdam. The contest’s “start to fish” signal was with the Fuller Road Fire Department’s fire truck blowing their siren and shooting a water stream out and into the water. Also visiting the contest was two Albany police on horseback and state Department of Environmental Conservation Officer Chris Valenty.

It was a steady line of smiling kids bringing up catches measured right up until 11:30 a.m. Trophies were awarded to the top five kids in each of the three different age groups. The biggest fish of the contest was a 13 1/2-inch largemouth bass caught by Antonio Gonzalez of Albany in the 13-16-year-old category. This was my 20th year helping Mike with his contest, and as always it is a lot of fun watching these young anglers running up to get their fish measured.

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