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[Rodney]

This season's derby starts on December 1st but I thought I'd start a thread early to mention that yesterday Wally and Fred presented a cheque ($8,580, the amount raised from the last derby) to the Fraser Valley Watersheds Coalition.

https://www.facebook.com/fishingwithrod/posts/10157939068772712

GOOD JOB EVERYONE! 🙂

Yesterday my friends Fred Helmer, owner of Fred's Custom Tackle, and Wally Hall Senior, presented a cheque to Natashia Cox at the Fraser Valley Watersheds Coalition. It was $8,580.00, the amount raised from last season's Wally Hall Junior Memorial Steelhead Fishing Derby.

To date, the derby has raised around $70,000, and the FVWC has put this money to good use. All of the new spawning and juvenile salmonid rearing habitat which you see along the Vedder River (Peach Creek, Brown Creek wetland, Hooge's wetland, etc) are the results of this collaboration.

Now, we often are very critical on current fishery issues, but I think rather than solely pointing out the wrong doings by others, we need to start having conversations about what more we could be doing to help and what goods we have been doing. In this case, Fred and his staff deserve a big pat on their backs. They've remained dedicated over the years to keep Wally's legacy going and will continue to do so. The staff and volunteers at the FVWC have also invested countless hours on planning and executing all these restoration projects. Finally, we have to thank Wally for bringing the angling community together and continuing this worthy cause.

We often hear about the millions of tax dollars being injected into fisheries, but quite frankly, only a tiny fraction of that would end up benefiting the fish we are trying to preserve. Every single dollar raised from this derby goes directly back to this river, which has given all of us more than just the fish we enjoy catching. For Wally, it is the connection between him and his late son, so we are pleased to carry on this legacy on his behalf.

If you would like to find out more about how the Wally Hall Junior Memorial Steelhead Derby has had a positive impact on the Chilliwack/Vedder River, please watch this video I released earlier this year, "A Legacy on the River":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbg6CDZrlcI

I will have more information on this year's upcoming derby in a couple of weeks from now.

[Dave]

Great to see the tradition continue    Kudos to Wally and Fred for keeping this funding going for habitat restorations in the Chilliwack River watershed.  This funding really does make a difference to local fish stocks.