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Two that didn’t get away

NARROWSBURG, NY — D.J. Hipsman, right, and J.C. Sommers were the first- and second-prize winners at Beaver Brook Rod and Gun Club’s annual kids ice fishing contest on February 1.

Sommers snagged a 19” pickerel, but old timers at the scene said that Hipsman’s 27”, 4.7-pound pickerel was the biggest anyone could recall coming from Lake LaBarr.

Beaver Brook official Peter Lilholt said the ice fishing contest is just one of the club’s community projects.

The Beaver Brook club’s 320 members are actively involved in sparking outdoor interests among the young year-round. They sponsor youth fishing days, both in summer and winter, and a kid’s shooting days at the club’s trap range.

“We provide all the equipment and refreshments,” he said.

The club also sponsors a T-ball team in the Eldred Youth Baseball league.

The rod and gun club owns 3,000 acres of woodland and lakes. Its inventory includes two trout ponds, and 48-acre Lake LaBarr for pickerel, perch and crappie fishing.

The club has an active deer habitat preservation program and their trap range, located on the Newburgh-Cochecton Turnpike, is open to the public. The range is open on Sundays in the winter from 9:00 a.m.