Fishing for a cure at Lake Davis
First place winner Quinn Gugin shows off his big fish with pride.
John and Kelly Pato held their seventh annual ice fishing derby at Lake Davis on Feb. 4, with funds raised going to cancer research.
“The weather wasn’t exactly on our side, by we still had 93 die-hard fishermen enter the derby,” Kellie Pato said. “This derby was started seven years ago by my husband and myself, after our son had a battle with cancer. Now we do this every year to raise funds for cancer research through the American Cancer Society, leading to our title of the event, ‘Fishing for a Cure.’”
The attendees spread out to pick ideal fishing spots around frozen Lake Davis, and tents popped up near the prime spots.
“We had a lot of big and beautiful fish come in,” said Kellie Pato. “At the end of the tournament, we held a large prize drawing that featured prizes donated from many local businesses as well as some larger Sportsman’s Gear donations from Reno. We were able to raise a total of $3,000 this year, which brings the full seven year amount we’ve raised to $18,000.”
Look out for next year’s Fishing for a Cure derby, which is held on the first Saturday of February every year.
2017 Fishing for a Cure Winners
In the adult category, first place went to Rod McKinney of Sierraville, second place to Max Breedlove of Graeagle, and third went to Paul Stoner of Sierraville.
In the kids 12 and under category, first place went to young fisherman Quinn Gugin of Reno, second place to Kody Stark of Reno, and third place went to Austin Husley of Wheatland.
A big thank you from the Pato family to the community for participating and making this event possible for the seventh year running, and congratulations to the big winners.
